Tails of a Girl: Book 4: A Tangled Web
by Fireyes17
Summary: Amberstar has been living in the clans for five years. Can she really live this life forever? "...And return to their true form."
1. Prologue

Hello readers! Sorry I've been gone so long. It's insane how much homework I've been getting the last few months. And I've joined the track team so that's taking up my time. And I have four school projects I should probably be doing…

But that's stuff is all boring! And I'm sick today and most likely tomorrow so I'm going to write!

WARNING: before reading this read my other three fan fictions (because it's a series and I don't want everything to be ruined!): _Tails of a Girl: Book 1: Into a Warrior, Tails of a Girl: Book 2: Dogs of the Hunt, and Tails of a Girl: Book 3: Cost of Kin._ (Wow, I can't believe I've written three fan fictions! [Besides the _Mortal Instruments_ one but that was for school so… it's lame and doesn't count {don't waste your time by reading it as you see my self-esteem is really high these days}]

…Warriors…

"Don't you think we're a little old to be racing back to camp?"

"Foxleap," I say. "Are we to old to hunt? Are we to old to fight?"

"Well, no-"

"Then there is no reason why we can't run home in a race type fashion! We patrolled all the borders and nothing has gone wrong! Let's have some fun! Besides we're not old! Now Ready? On your mark-"

"Ambersta-"

"GO!" I scream as we race of through the forest.

I see the entrance to camp coming closer and closer into view.

"Ow!" I trip and my face connects with the dirt. I sit up and feel my front paw burning as if something has been ripped out of me.

Foxleap slows down and stops a few feet away from me. He walks over and asks "What's wrong? Are you ok?"

"Yes," I answer. "I just tripped. And I guess I hurt my paw." I hold it up to show him.

"You're bleeding!" he says; as if blood isn't an everyday occurrence in our lives.

I look at it to see it bleeding around my paw. As if it's a blood bracelet. "That's weird. I'll have to see Jayfeather when we get back to camp."

"Ok, let's get back to camp." He says, pushing me to my feet, toward camp.

What I don't realize the shiny stone I left behind…

…Warriors…

**Allegiances**

ThunderClan

Leader

Amberstar- ginger she-cat with amber eyes

Deputy

Lionblaze- golden tabby tom with amber eyes

Medicine Cat

Jayfeather– gray tabby tom with cloudy, unseeing blue eyes

Warriors

Brackenfur- golden brown tom

Sorreltail- blue, green, greyish she-cat, white paws and underbelly, and amber eyes

Cloudtail- white tom with blue eyes

Brightheart- white she-cat with dark brown flecks and one eye

Thornclaw- golden brown tabby tom

Squirrelflight- dark ginger she-cat with green eyes

Leafpool- Light and dark brown she-cat with white muzzle, underbelly, and legs

Birchfall- light and dark brown tabby tom

Whitewing- white she-cat with green eyes

Berrynose- cream colored tom

Hazeltail- light brown she-cat

Mousewhisker- grey and white tom

Cinderheart- grey tabby she-cat

Foxleap- red tabby tom with fluffy tail

Icecloud- white she-cat

Toadstep- black tom, apprentice

Rosepetal- pale, pinkish she-cat

Briarlight- brown she-cat

Bumblestripe- pale tom with black stripes

Poppyfrost- tortoiseshell she-cat

Dovewing- pale gray she-cat with blue eyes

Ivypool- white she-cat with dark blue eyes

Cherrypelt- brown she-cat

Molefur- dark tom

Flamesong- ginger tabby she-cat

Jadeleaf- brown tom with grey eyes

Frostfire- speckled ginger tom with gray stripes

Sunstreak- golden tom with a dark streak down his back, amber eyes

Moonshine- black tabby toms with darker black stripes, in the stripes on his back are the phases of the moon, black eyes

Skydream- light blue-gray she-cat with white paws, fluffy tail tipped with white

Fallenleaves- ginger tabby tom with yellow eyes

Queens

Ferncloud- brown she-cat

Daisy- cream colored she-cat

Earthspirit- calico she-cat with dark green eyes, kits: Icekit, Palekit

Pinetree- dark brown she-cat with dark green eyes

Elders

Graystripes- gray tabby tom with blue eyes

Dustpelt- dark brown tabby tom

Millie- pale she-cat

ShadowClan

Leader

Blackstar- black tom with white paws

Deputy

Applefur-mottled brown she-cat

Medicine Cat

Eveningfire -greyish brown tom with black splotches and golden stripes

WindClan

Leader

Ashstar- dark grey she-cat

Deputy

Breezepelt- black tom with amber eyes

Medicine Cat

Kestleflight- golden brown tom

RiverClan

Leader

Mistystar- gray she-cat

Deputy

Reedwhisker- black tom

Medicine Cat

Mothwing-dappled golden she-cat

Apprentice, Willowshine

Twolegs

Anna- Korean girl with short hair, 15 years old

Angie- long dirty blonde hair with bangs, hazel eyes, tall, 15 years old

Mike-tall African American boy with cornrows 15 years old

Josh- pale brown short curly hair, chubby, brown eyed boy, glasses, square head 15 years old

Tony- Josh's twin (not identical), pale brown short curly hair, fat, glasses, hazel eyes, 15 years old

Kori- brown hair, brown eyed girl, 15 years old

Maggie- tall, dark brown short hair, side bangs, brown eyed girl, 16 years old

Margret- tall, Maggie's identical twin, no bangs

Mac- Hispanic boy with curly hair

Demean- tan boy with longish dark brown hair and brown eyes (if you read Maximum ride he kind of looks like Fang), always wearing varsity jacket 16 years old

Jack- boy with light brown hair and brown eyes, 15 years old

…Warriors…

Sorry about so much of a change in the Allegiances. It's a good 2 or 3 years after her last adventure so I assume a lot can change in that amount of time. Especially when they're all cats…

Ps: I might change the name of the story 'cause I can't think of anything to call it. A reader came up with the name and I love when people have stuff for me to put in my stories (if you haven't noticed already [and if you have no idea what I'm taking about look at the Allegiances again!]) So thanks KittyCat for coming up with the name of the story! If anyone (as I write more and you guys actually know what it's about- no offense KittyCat, it's just you had no idea what the story is about. Although for not knowing it is an epic and actually fits really well [MAYBE YOUR PSYCHIC!... or its just a pretty general title that could epically fit most stories {I'm rambling aren't I. sorry, I'm just so excited to be writing something fun again! –that I won't be graded on! I'm taking a creative writing class and my teacher is so judgmental!}]) has another name write it in a review and I'll think about it… but probably wait until we actually know more about the plot.


	2. Chapter 1

(Sorry, I was going to post this on Christmas but… presents. And I was going to write earlier today, but for some reason my hands were shaking and I couldn't type. Yeah, no idea why that happened… Thanks Tears and Jayleaf1 for commenting!)

"Looking good, Sorreltail," says Moonshine.

"Ew," is all she gives as a reply.

"Hazeltail, I see you got a good night sleep," he says to the next she-cat he sees.

"Get lost, mousebrain," Hazeltail replies without even turning her head.

"Icecloud, good to see-"

"Don't make me skin your pelt."

"Flamesong, fire-y as ever!" he tries again.

"Get lost loser," she says then whacks him in the face with her tail.

"What's a tom got to do to-"

"Finally we reached camp!" I say when we reach the entrance to camp. This paw is starting to sting and I can't even walk on it. Praise to anyone with three legs!

Most cats turn to me with a worried look. Some ask me if I'm ok. Others try to help, but all I really need is to get to Jayfeather's den. He can take care of me.

"Don't worry everyone," I try to say to the crowd of cats gathering. "I'm fine; I just hurt my paw is all."

"Mom!" Moonshine says running up to me.

I slip into Jayfeather's den and Moonshine follows. Foxleap waits protectively outside making sure the whole camp doesn't try to get in.

"What's the matter?!" Jayfeather screams erratically. "Are you hurt?! How bad is it?! Wait… I'm supposed to figure that out…"

I hold out my paw for him. He blinks, adjusting to actually seeing. This doesn't look too bad."

Moonshine and Briarlight look at us over from their conversation. They have confused expressions.

"I- I mean it doesn't feel too deep." They go back to smiling and giggling as if nothing else mattered. I never see Briarlight so happy as when Moonshine visits.

Jayfeather brings some cobwebs and some other leafy things. I know absolutely nothing about herbs. You think with a medicine cat mate I could at least learn a thing or two. Yeah, I'm hopeless.

"Honestly," Jayfeather starts. "You think by now you can learn to walk in the forest without hurting yourself. I mean, I'm blind half the time and I have no problem."

"Well, being blind the _whole_ time makes you more attuned to things in the forest!"

I smile and look into his eyes; he does the same. Quickly he looks back at the cobwebs he's putting on my paw.

I look over at Briarlight and Moonshine sharing that same look. A pang goes through my heart. I would love to do that in public.

Whatever, it's the life I chose. And I can't trade that.

"See anything while on patrol?" Jayfeather asks.

"Nothing much," I answer as I try to figure out how he can bandage the cobwebs without getting them all over himself. They're so sticky! "We thought we smelled something near the border, but it was nothing. The scent was stale and most likely was just carried here by the wind."

"What was it the smell of?" He asks.

"I don't know. I've never smelled it before. Foxleap said he has, but couldn't identify it. But if it was really important I think he would have remembered the smell," I say as he finishes wrapping me up.

"Try not to walk on it the rest of the day," says Jayfeather. "It should heal by tomorrow, but if you don't listen to me it will be longer."

"Ok leader of WorryClan. I'll be getting myself some freshkill. Coming Moonshine?" he looks so reluctant to go. "Let's get a piece for Briarlight." His ears perk up.

"That sounds like a great idea," he says and follows me out of den.

The moment we get out of viewing distance of the den, he changes. It's as if he controlled by a remote, or taken off mask up. He looks around as if prowling for prey. And he finally finds his target.

"Sup, Rosepetal?"

The only way to tell that she heard him is her tail starting to twitch.

I hit him on the head as hard as I can. "What is wrong with you?!" I start to scream at him. I continue to walk to the freshkill pile; refusing to look at him. "We are getting food for Briarlight, who a moment ago, you were crazy about! How can you just forget about her within a second?! Don't you care about anyone? Honestly! She's the only she-cat who will actually talk to you besides your own mother!"

I look back to see him unfazed from my speech. I say this to him at least once a week. He just doesn't get it.

We arrive at the freshkill pile to see Skydream practically on top of Toadstep. He's looking for a way out.

_What is wrong with my children?!_ I think.

…Warriors…

"…Brightheart, Poppyfrost, Moonshine, and Sunstreak can go on a hunting patrol," says Lionblaze."

"Good idea," I say as I walk down from my den. The freshkill pile has been getting so low this winter. We've had worse winters, but extra patrols are still helpful.

"Amberstar!" Lionblaze exclaims in surprise. "Actually awake before sunhigh! Good, maybe you are finally ready to be leader," he says jokingly.

"Ha. Ha. I would say something about that big tuff of fur sticking up at the top of your head, but since your planning extra patrols I won't say anything."

I snicker as he smooths it down, embarrassed.

"Ready to go, bro?" Moonshine asks Sunstreak.

"Does StarClan watch over us? Bro, of course I'm ready!"

"Bet you can't catch as many mice as me!" wagers Moonshine.

"Over Dad's dead body!" threatens Sunstreak before the brothers rush into the forest.

"Why do you always threaten my life?!" asks Lionblaze knowing he will never get an answer.

The two she-cats look sympathetically at us. "They're going to scare away all the prey in the forest!" says Poppyfrost as she and Brightheart bound into the forest after the toms.

I walk over to Toadstep, Foxleap, and Dovewing who are eating some mice.

"Hey, Amberstar," says Dovewing as I sit down next to her. "You have to try this mouse! Is as fresh as a Greenleaf mouse! These mousebrains won't believe me and won't try it."

"Alright," I say. I'm starving! I've been so hungry lately, which is really annoying. Especially when I have a whole clan to feed. I take a bite. "Ew! Raw animal in my mouth! Blah! That's disgusting!"

"Told you, Dovewing," says Toadstep with a triumphant look on his face.

_Weird, I love mouse_, I think.

…Warriors…

(Remember to R&R! Like that mom burn Amberstar says to Moonshine :p

He's going to need some aloe for that burn!)


	3. Chapter 2

(I know! Two chapters in one day! I can't stop playing with my hair!)

…Warriors…

"Why has everyone being so quiet today?" I ask Jayfeather. Were supposed to be sharing a mouse but I can't eat it. I don't really know why, I'm starving. Lionblaze devours his mole next to us. He always seems to show up when Jayfeather and I are alone. Protective as always.

"What are you talking about?" says Lionblaze, quietly, with a full mouth of dead animal. For some reason the raw meat makes my stomach churn. "Your kits where running around camp as if they still were kits! Moonshine took Sunstreak's mole. They practically knocked over poor Graystripes! Skydream was practically clawing little Jadeleaf. He was actually yelping in _pain._"

Jayfeather tenses up next to me. He hates when she's like that. He wants to scream at every tom who talks to the girl. But he's just Uncle Jayfeather.

"Fallenleaves was messing with some logs again and almost broke camp! Honestly, the only sane one is Pinetree and she's having kits!" I know he's screaming, but it sounds like he's just talking in a normal voice.

"Whatever," I say. "I'm going out hunting." The food is starting to torcher me, but it's not like I can eat it. What is wrong with me? "Hey, Jay, are there any edible berries in the forest? Not with any healing powers, just berries to eat."

He looks up surprised. "Yes, most are gone this time of year, but near the abandoned there are some edible blue berries. Stay away from the red ones. They'll kill you. Why do you want berries?"

"I have no idea! Why am I craving a well done steak?!"

The toms look at me in confusion. Before they can ask any questions I walk out of camp. My clomping feet almost completely silent.

_Why am I being so weird? _I think._ Well weirder than normal._

I walk near the old twoleg nest. I keep my ears alert for prey.

Nothing.

I don't hear a single animal. I mean, I know its leaf bare, but come on! I usually hear something!

_Squeak!_ I look down to see a mouse run from under my feet. I try to pounce, but it disappears.

_What?! He was right under me! How did I not see it!?_

After failing to catch anything for about an hour I give up and go find the berries. I see them trying to grow near the side of the abandoned house. I pick a few. _This is the best thing I've had in days!_ Not only are they blue berries, but they're literally blueberries! I haven't had them since I turned into a cat! I can't believe they were so close. If course, I've never wanted to eat them before. I wonder what's wrong with me. Oh well, at least no one else wants these berries. I have them all to myself. It starts to snow and I hide under the comfort of the porch. Eating my blue berries and watching my land turn into an icy wonderland.

…Warriors…

(Sorry if this chapter is boring. I never thought it was going to be boring until I actually wrote it. Remember to R&R!)


	4. Chapter 3

(Another new chapter! Three in one day!)

…Warriors…

"_I'm coming!" I say running and then tripping to the door in my turquoise, ruffled dress. "Sparrowpelt put your present on the table over there." I say pointing to the little table._

"_Ok thanks. Your party is going to be awesome!" Angie says placing the present on the table. "Oh yeah, happy birthday, Alexa!" Sparrowpelt is her warrior name in the Clan we made up, RainClan. I'm also the leader, Amberstar and she is my deputy. If we could both be leaders we would be._

"_Will you ever call me Amberstar?" I say only half joking. _

"_No."_

_We start laughing._

_One by one they bring me the presents. Some were amazing, some were funny, and then there was Sparrowpelts's. It was in a small and in a bright red box. It looked a lot like a jewelry box from K Jewelers. Which is odd because I'm not really a jewelry kind of person and neither is Angie. I open it and…_

"_OMGSC it's beautiful!" I exclaimed. If you don't know what OMGSC means, it means Oh My Great StarClan. The bracelet had a big round, clear stone that, in the right light, seamed to see into your soul. Nothing like this can really come from a store can it?_

"_You're welcome! I found it in a cave." Angie says_

"_Excuse me, but I was there too!" butts in Anna._

"_Oh yeah and Anna was there too." Angie says dryly._

_I was speechless. (And that doesn't happen often) _

_The rest of the bracelet was just the usual clear beads you can find at any store, but the big one was just breath taking. I never understood most women's obsession with jewelry until now. Well I guess this is still kind of different, but still I am amazed._

"_Not trying to ruin the moment, but doesn't this loser still have to give you a present," says Tony, subtle as always. He points to Demean._

"_Well I do have a present," objects Demean "I just wasn't ready to give it to her yet."_

"_Not getting any younger here," Tony says expectantly._

"_Demean, did you bring a present?" I ask. "If you didn't it's alright, I guess."_

"_I got you something!" he says, leaning in and pointing to himself. "It's just not a physical gift… it will be… interesting."_

_He takes my hand and I stand up. His arms go around me and I do the same thing. I can feel his leather jacket tight against my body. We lean in and…_

"_You do know that you and all your idiotic friends are all losers and the past 3 months with you have been horrible." He is whispering this into in to my ear "I just did this because all my friends dared me to spend time with you people. And every month I spent with you I got $30."_

_Now, me in my right mind would pound him so hard he turned purple, but stupid heartbroken me just stood there frozen. So I had my friends take care of him. They chased him out of the house, but he already ran away. I could hear him laughing with his sick friends that were apparently waiting outside. I don't know to respond to this action. I guess I'm just a bad judge of character._

"_Party's over." I hear myself say. The voice is hollow and foreign. "You guys can all go home."_

"_Are you sure?" asks Mac._

"_Yes." I say. I'm finally able to move, but all I do is holding open the door._

_When everyone leaves I say, "Sparrowpelt, before you go just let me say I will never take this bracelet off. It just feels… special." I promise._

"_Are you sure you even want me to leave? Do you want to talk or something?"_

"_A Sparrowpelt that wants to talk about feelings? No thanks. See you tomorrow maybe, I guess." I manage a pathetic smile._

…Warriors…

"Ah!" I wake with a start. I look around. I'm safe in my den. Thank StarClan. Wow, I haven't had a nightmare about that party in years. Actually I don't think I ever really thought about it. Why was I with that jerk? Why am I thinking about that?

I feel so alone. I miss my friends. All the sudden, more than anything, I want to see them. I wish I had had that talk with Sparrowpelt.

Sparrowpelt. My best friend. Wow, I miss her so much.

I walk out of my den, I can't sleep now. Or be alone in that den.

Maybe I should go to Jayfeather, but I don't want anyone finding me walk out of the medicine cats den in the morning. No way am I going to Lionblaze. I don't need any annoying sarcasm to remind me of Demean. Maybe I should go to Foxleap. He is my best friend. But I don't think I need a guy friend right now. What about Dovewing? She's my closest female friend.

While I'm talking I don't notice the sun starting to rise and cats are starting to come out of their dens.

"Amberstar? What are you doing up this early?"

I turn around to see Squirrelflight walking toward me. I can't tell if her voice is quiet because she doesn't want to wake anyone, or because I can't hear.

"Oh… um… I had a… sort of… nightmare," I feel my fur get hot with embarrassment. That's not exactly what you want to hear from your leader.

She must see how worried I am. "Want to tell me about it?"

I would love to spill my guts and tell her all I felt, but I'm a cat. Not a twoleg.

"It's nothing," well if I can't even convince myself this, I doubt she's fazed. "Just something from my past."

_Thank God, she's not the young Squirrelflight I read about._ I think._ She would never let me go with that statement!_

…Warriors…

"We haven't gone for a walk in moons!" I say to Jayfeather. It's so magical out here. The snow left a perfect white blanket covering everything and Jayfeather and I are the first to mess it up! I stick my nose in the snow and flop around trying to make snow angels. Well, trying to at least. Cats are not meant for building snow angels…

"Is it me, or is it getting colder?" I feel a sudden chill and it's not really going away.

"Oh my StarClan!" shouts Jayfeather. "All your fur is falling off!" I look down to see a pile of red fur contrasting the bright snow.

"Ah!" I scream as I get on my hind legs, which feels way better than hunching over on all fours.

"I hear it over here!" screams Lionblaze as he and all my kits step out from some bushes. "What in Great StarClan's name is going on?!"

I look down to see them shrinking, or am I growing?! I look at my paw to see it growing nails. My paws elongating into _fingers. _I feel my head with my arms and feel my head growing fur. No _hair!_

"What's going on?!" Jayfeather screams at me "What?! How?!"

"Jayfeather," I cry out. "I'm so, so sorry." Tears fill my eyes. I can barely see how angry he is as I wipe away my tears. "I'm so sorry I never told you. About my past. About how… how… I'M A TWOLEG!"

Everyone gasps. Jayfeather's sightless eyes as wide as can be.

I stumble bad and fall into the snow. Finally at the same level as my family.

"How could you?!" screams Jayfeather. "I'm your mate! You're supposed to tell me everything and you don't tell me that you're a TWOLEG! I loved you!"

_I loved you_ I think. _Loved you. Loved._

"You don't understand." I cry out in between sobs. "Jayfeather you've got to understand!" I say; he doesn't understand me. I'm speaking _English!_ "Jayfeather," I meow, "you've-"

"Shut up!" he Screams at me.

"I knew we should have never trusted you!" screams Lionblaze. "From the moment you came to the clan I knew you were horrible! You are evil! You made my brother break the warrior code! He had kits with you! You betrayed him! You betrayed me! You betrayed the clan! Go! Leave! Never come back, you worthless foxheart!"

"No! You don't under-"

"Get out of here!" Screams Lionblaze.

"Go!" screams Jayfeather. "Never come back!"

I take one last look at my kits. All speechless, unable to meet my gaze. So broken. I turn and run blindly into the forest. For I have no place to go. I'm leaving everything behind.

…Warriors…

(Remember to R&R!)


	5. Chapter 4

(Wow! Can't believe I'm writing another chapter today!)

…Warriors…

I don't know how long I ran, or where I ran too. All I know is that I'm past clan territory. I can't even see it. I'm truly alone.

I find a river to see my reflection. I'm wearing the same clothes I was wearing when I turned into a cat. Same pink panda shirt (which I think is stretched to its limits) and same knee high jeans (which I think are going to start cutting off my circulation soon). I reach into my pocket to find the same $4.29 I had the day I changed. And a _really_ stale piece of bubble gum.

I drop the bubble gum on the ground and realize if I don't find shelter soon my entire body will go numb. I wander clueless to where I'm going. I walk until I hear a busy highway. I stand at the side of the road. Four lanes across, one person on this busy road has got to pick up a hitchhiker.

I stick my thumb in the air like hitchhikers do in the movies.

After a half hour of waving my thumb in the air like an idiot a minivan pulls over.

"Need a ride, little missy?" asks a curly haired, southern woman.

"Um, yes, thank you!" I open the door and take a seat next to her. "Oh the warmth!" I say as I close the door. The heat reviving my energy. "Thank you so much! I've been standing out their forever!"

"No problem," she answers. "I can't just let another person freeze to death out there. Honestly, I don't know how you northern folk stand this snow! Never snows in Alabama!"

I don't know who I expected to pick me up when I decided to do this. But I absolutely was not expecting her. I rather have a mom-like woman in her thirties with a minivan than strange twenty year olds in a creepy white van prowling for kids like me. Am I still a kid?

It dawns on me that I have no idea how old I am. Weird.

"So what's a teenager like you doing out there dressed like you're going swimming! How old are you? Fifteen or sixteen?"

Well, that answers that question. "I'm… I'm fifteen," I guess. "I don't really know what I'm doing. I just wanted to find somewhere warm and a car seems like the closest thing."

"Aw, you poor, sweetheart. Do you want to go home? Where do you live? I'm driving to Perksville to visit some family. It's about 200 miles away."

Perkville, where have I heard that before?

I know! Its a few miles away from my old town! Maybe I can find my family!

"I'm going to Perksville!" I say happily.

"Well that's great! We'll be there in a few hours! Why don't you sleep until we get there? You look exhausted. I have some blankets under the seats. Get one and just relax until we get there." Got to love southern hospitality.

No objections here. I fall right to sleep.


	6. Chapter 5

(Hello! Happy New Year! Can't believe its 2013! I feel so old… Anyway, did any of you see the movie Rise of the Guardian? BEST MOVIE EVER! Like, I might have to become a fangirl for Jack Frost. Yes, I know. It was that amazing! Now, back to Amberstar having, like, the worst day ever…

Oh, and thank you rainheart2323 for commenting… and sorry for killing you internally, but there has to be a plot to the story!)

…Warriors…

"We're here!" says Linda. I wake up to find us parked in a drive way. "Sweetie, this is where you have to get out. Or do you need me to drive you somewhere?"

"No, no," I respond, still half asleep. "I just need to know where the closest bus stop is."

"Are you sure that's all?" she asks, worriedly. In the past few hours I've known her she's been nothing but kind to me. Offering just about everything she has to me: food, drinks, and clothes. I would take them, but I don't really know if I'll need them for long. Well, I could always go for food, but… "You don't need a jacket? It's freezing and snowing. It's not right for you to be out there like that." She says and points to my clothes.

"Don't worry about me," I say as comforting as I can. "I'm tough. The cold won't bother me." Ok, I know I'm lying. "So where is that bus stop?"

…Warriors…

_Here it is_, I think as I get off the bus. _My town. Where I grew up. Since when did this place get so sentimental?_

It takes me a few moments to get my barring. I'm on Lourd Street. It's only a few blocks away from my house!

I run down the streets, not even thinking about what's around me. I know the streets, even if they are slightly different. But nothing ever changes to drastically in the suburbs.

I turn onto my street. Nothing's changed! Just as I left it!

I run half way up the block until I see number 72. _My house_, I think.

I stop running and just look at it. Weird, I know it's winter, but Mom always had some plants in the garden. Even if they were prickly bushes in the middle of the yard, she always had something.

_Maybe she's just too lazy, _I think. _I could never stand gardening._

I walk up to door and knock.

_This is it!_ I think.

A blue eyed woman with spikey black hair and the shortest skirt I think you can wear in winter answers the door. "Hey, you're not the pizza guy. What are you doing here, kid?"

My heart drops. This is my house?! "I… um…"

Some guy without a shirt appears at the door next to her. "Babe, what's going on?" he asks.

"But didn't- didn't the Vega's liver here?!" I ask. I can hear the desperation on my voice. _This has to be a mistake._ I think. _Am I at the wrong house?_

"Sorry, they left town three years ago," the guy, who I don't understand how he's not freezing right now, answers. "Sold the house and never looked back."

He promptly slams the door.

"But- but my family," I say to know one. I turn around and wrap my arms around myself.

_What am I going to do now?_ I think. _Wait, I know._

Angie.

I walk down the street, taking one last look of what used to be.

…Warriors…

(I was just thinking. Leo Valdez [from Heroes of Olympus series by Rick Riodan] and Amberstar have similar personalities. They both look on the bright side of things and even when things are hard they still try to make jokes- try to stay positive. Plus, they always fall for the wrong people. Just a random thought I had. Remember to R&R!)


	7. Chapter 6

(Hey, sorry I haven't written in a while! Holidays and now midterms. I should be studying now but I've been studying nonstop [ok not nonstop, but you know what I mean] and need a break. Ok, FINALLY finished my history paper that my teacher gave me back in NOVEMBER! IN CELEBRATION OF FINISHING THIS PROJECT I WILL WRITE THE NEXT CHAPTER! … and avoid the next project he gave us already… I really hate Tamb- Mr. Historyteacher. Thank you Ashtail of Thunder clan, rainheart2323, Deerflight, and Guest for commenting!)

…Warriors…

"What just happened?" Pinetree asks in a slight voice, breaking the silence that had fallen over the cats for a few minutes. Everyone turns to look at her as if she shattered the glass of silence.

"Everyone was thinking it," says Sunstreak as if trying to cover up her talking.

"What are we going to do?" asks Skydream. "Without Mom…" she trails of not even knowing how to finish her sentence. "And Dad…" Lionblaze looks directly at her, about to say something. "But you're not," she turns to Jayfeather. "He is."

"Look I know this looks bad," says Lionblaze. "But we have a perfectly logical explanation for lying to you."

"We're mistakes," says Moonbeam. "We get it; you were just trying to cover up your mistakes."

"But what about Mom?!" screams Pinetree. "'Cause I'm pretty sure no one has a _logical explanation_ for that!"

"What are we going to tell the clan?!" inquires Skydream.

"What are we going to tell ourselves?" says Fallenleaves in a gloomy voice.

"Shut up!" screams Pinetree, getting right into Fallenleaves. "You're always making situations worse! Always saying the most useless, foxhearted questions!" She starts breathing long, hard breaths.

"She's hyperventilating!" Screams Jayfeather. "We have to get her to camp for some poppy seeds before the panic attack sets in!"

Everyone goes on all sides of her and drags her to camp.

…Warriors…

"She needs to sleep for the next few days, but I think she'll be alright after that," says Jayfeather as Pinetree sleeps in the nest next to him. The seven cats cram into Jayfeather's den. All of them to afraid to talk about what needs to be said. "Amberstar always said panic attacks were more common with twolegs…" Well, he broke the ice.

"How could she not tell us?" asks Skydream.

"How could you not tell us?" asks Sunstreak.

"It's what was best for us," says Jayfeather, "and for you. Honestly what's better: being the kits of the deputy and leader" everyone cringed, "ex-leader… leader cat- twoleg thing? Ok, isn't it better to be the kits of the deputy than to be the illegitimate kits of a dumb, old, blind medicine cat?"

No one looks at him; the truth doesn't always have to be said.

"What are we going to tell everyone happened to…" Skydream's voice trails off not knowing how to say her name.

Everyone silent for a few minutes, trying to think of a good plan. "We'll just have to say that we don't know," says Lionblaze. "Don't say anything until sundown and when everyone starts asking I'll send out patrols to look for her."

_What are we going to do? _ Thinks Lionblaze.


	8. Chapter 7

Let's pretend I posted this yesterday like I said I was going to. {It's only 8 minutes after yesterday anyway}

(WHAT?! Two chapters in one day? WHAT IS THIS MADNESS! I know crazy, right?! See what gets done with a little procrastination! I have my school band trip to Disney starting Thursday so hopefully I'll have time on the plane to write! [Or I'll just be distracted by the 100 other screaming kids on our small charter plane that probably can only fit 50 kids, but crazy band teacher doesn't care as long as he can scream at us. Or distracted by my crazy friends, or distracted by Aust- Chip Tolentino. {See the play _25__th__ Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee_ to get the reference. Seriously, it was one of the funniest plays I've ever seen!} Or distracted by my friend and his new girlfriend. The sight of her makes me want to puke and the sight of them together makes me want to gorge my eyes out. Don't judge me! She has no redeeming qualities! She rude, nasty, ugly, fat… This list goes on forever so I'm going to get to the story.] Is anyone else going anywhere cool for school trips?)

…Warriors…

"I think this is the right street," I say as I approach the white house with the dark grey shutters. I look around the lawn to see everything the same; as if I never left. The big twisted tree in the yard still looks like it has an eye. The mailbox still has the huge white paint stain from that time Angie and I thought it would be a good idea to paint over the picture of a squirrel. I can even hear the neighbors little rat dog barking at me. Anna always said she wanted one of those things. I've always been more of a big dog person myself.

Person.

Myself?

I shake the thought away and walk up to the door. I look at the old wooden door. It's got a small crack in the corner that I've never seen before. Things have changed.

I ring the doorbell.

_Bark! Bark! Bark!_

I jump back a few feet as the door opens.

Angie doesn't have a dog! She has a cat and a hamster!

A woman with curly blond hair opens the door. Streaks of gray and white fill the curls reminding me of Berrynose's pelt.

My heart drops. _Berrynose_ I think. _I even miss that annoying furball. And Daisy and Foxleap and Toadstep-_

"How? But how?! You… you went missing!"

I look up to see the woman's wide blue eyes.

Angie's mom remembers me.

I open my mouth to say…

Nothing.

_What am I going to say?!_ I think. _Hi, I'm your daughter's long lost friend. I'm not a cat so I guess I'll crash at your house. Thanks so much! By the way I have no idea what my life is and I'm staying forever!_

"Sorry, who?" I say.

_Good cover,_ I think. _She will definitely believe I'm not me now._

"Alexa… What-"

"Um… My names…" I say. _What's my name?!_ "My name is Amber." _Real original Sherlock! _I think.

"But…" She calms down and looks me up and down. "Who…"

"I'm a new student in Angie's school. We're doing a, um, history project together. She told me I could come over so we could work on it."

"Oh, that's good. Sorry about that. It's just you look so much like…"

"I feel like I'll be getting that a lot," I say as I walk into the house. It looks relatively the same as I walk into the living room; same brown couch and matching chairs facing the fireplace. A wilting Christmas tree sits near the window as if looking out into the cold world. Her family always kept the tree at least a month after Christmas to keep the spirit alive.

Christmas.

Images of my family on Christmas fill mind. The crackling of the fire as I crinkle some wrapping paper of a huge box. The sweet smell of Santa's cookies baking on the oven. My mother always made the best peanut butter cookies. She always joked that I put so much peanut butter that Santa would be stuck to our table when he tried to pick them up. And in the morning we would find Santa siting at our table ready to scold me. I would always wake up extra early on Christmas to check if he was.

"Aren't you cold?" asks Angie's mom, breaking me out of my Christmas fantasy. "You must be freezing. It's 37 degrees outside and you only wearing a, um, _small_ tee-shirt. It looks just like the one Alexa…" her voice fades before she could finish the sentence. I looked down to see that the word small was an understatement. I might be short, but I seem to have grown a few inches since I was ten and the shirt doesn't even cover half my stomach.

"It's fine," I say. "My house isn't too far from here," _I'm getting too good at lying._ "I haven't done laundry in ages and this is the only thing left." _No kidding_, I think sarcastically.

"Did the Perkin's house sell already?"

"What?" I ask.

"The only house for sale on this side of town is the Perkin's house. They've been trying to sell it only for a few weeks. I can't believe it sold already."

I forgot. This is a town of 2,000 people; nothing gets by them.

"Um, yeah, we heard this was a good neighborhood so we moved in quickly."

"Really? I haven't heard that since… Anyway Angie is downstairs watching TV. It's right…"

I'm walking to the door before she can even finish the sentence. I know where the door is. I spent the majority of my weekends here. But she can't know that.

I head through the doorway to see Angie sitting on the couch watching TV. She's so immersed in the show she doesn't notice me standing there.

This hasn't happened in five years. Me walking in on her watching TV. A bowl of her favorite potato chips in her lap as she eats them voraciously. Her wearing a yellow shirt because it's her favorite color.

But we're not ten anymore. And her hair isn't in a braid. She's not so short that her feet can't touch the ground. It's not the same shirt.

"Hi," I say in a small voice. Did she even hear me?

I guess she did because she snaps out of her transformation and stares at me.

Her mouth drops open and her mouth gets wider and wider. So wide that I can see every shade of green and brown swimming in those terrified eyes.

"Angie I-"

"Not again!" she screams as she gets of the couch and throws a pillow at me. She hides behind the couch. Not again! I got rid of you! You're not real!"

I slowly walk closer to her, "Angie, it's me, Alexa. I'm real."

"No!" she screams as I kneel down in front of her. She cowers in the floor with her arms covering her head and her eyes closed.

I hold out my hand. "Please," I say quietly. I can hardly muster that. Tears are filling my eyes and blocking my throat. "I'm real. I'm here."

She opens her eyes and looks at me. "Well, usually you don't look my age. But you're even wearing the same shirt as the day you left…" She tentatively puts her hand in mine. She quickly pulls her hand away and her eyes widen again. "You are real!" she screams. Before I know it her arms embrace me. "It's you! It's really you!" Tears well up in my eyes. I feel my sleeve moisten and I know she is crying too.

I get up and sit on the couch. My body relaxes as I sink into it.

"You have no idea how good this feels," I say to her, lightening the mood.

She wipes the tears away from her eyes, "siting on the couch? I see you're as lazy as always," she says with a smile.

"Hey, I haven't sat on a couch and ate chips for years!"

Angie can't take it anymore. "Alexa what happened? What's going on? Where were you? Why are you back?"

"You're not going to believe me" I say.

"Try me," she challenges.

"And here she goes again," someone meows. "She never stops talking! Honestly, I thought she was gone!"

"Oh, hey, pepper," says Angie sweetly as she picks up her cat.

"Little lighter with the touching, geez. You can't man handle me like your crazy dog over there," Pepper meows.

"Angie your cat just talked!"

"What are you talking about?" Angie says. "She was just meowing hi to you."

"That was not saying hi," I say flatly. "Wow, I guess I can still understand cats."

"Alexa, what are you taking about?" Angie asks completely confused.

"Do you still read the _Warriors_ books?" I ask. _Maybe if she knows about me it will be easier to explain_, I think.

"What does this have to do with where you were?"

"Just answer the question!"

"No," says Angie. "A new character was introduced and none of us liked her. She was bossy and mean. Half the time no one had any idea what she said."

"What was her name?" I ask desperately. _I hope she's not talking about me!_ I think.

"Amber something," says Angie.

"Amberstar," I say solemnly.

"What? They made that crazy mousebrain leader? She was immature and annoying. And what was with her and Jayfeather? Honestly, how stupid can she be to spend that much time with a medicine cat? At least she wasn't dumb enough to have kits with him." My heart drops. _They hate me, _I think. _They've all been reading about me and they hate me. Our last connection and I ruined it._ "Why are you asking about this?" asks Angie. "You know I could talk about books forever. Stop distracting me. Where were you?"

"I'm not distracting you," I say quietly. "And it's not stupid. You don't choose who you fall in love with."

"What are you talking about?"

"I'm Amberstar! I've turned into a cat and ran away! I love Jayfeather and we were stupid enough to have kits together! I love my kits and I think they hate me! Somehow I'm a human again and all my friends hate who I've been for the last- I don't even know how many years because I've been a cat!"

Well, got that out.

Angie gives a nervous laugh. "What are you talking about, Alexa?"

"And stop calling me that! I'm Amberstar, leader of ThunderClan!"

"Stop acting so weird!" screams Angie. "I just found out you're alive and you're giving me this crazy story! Maybe I am hallucinating again."

"Angie, you've got to believe me! I know this is crazy, I don't even understand it myself, but it's true!"

"Where, do you find these lunatics?" meows Pepper.

"And shut up you!" I meow back. "Or I'll rip your eye out!"

"With what? You're razor sharp claws?" she gets up and walks out of the room. "I'm going to take a nap."

Angie puts her hand on her face. "Oh my God, my dead best friend is meowing to my cat. They're having an actually conversation. This is it. I'm going insane."

"But I actually was a cat!" I say

"Through my insanity I believe. I've never seen Pepper make that much noise unless she was talking to other cats. Al- Amber, how did this happen?"

"I have no idea," I answer truthfully. "I've just been a cat."

"Wait, you had kits with Jayfeather? You fell in love with a cat?"

"Well, when you put it that way I just sound like a crazy person."

"How did you have kids already? You're only 15."

"I don't know, as a cat it seemed to work. Now is just seems creepy. Whatever, they're so adorable. I hope they're ok." I think back to the last time I saw them. Hatred and horror filled their eyes.

"What were they like?" Angie says, obviously trying to distract me from my sadness.

"They're wonderful. I proceed to tell her every little detail about my kits that I can possibly say.

"How did you hide the fact that they were Jayfeather's kits from the clan? Wait, aren't you the leader? How did that happen?"

For the next few hours I tell her every detail of my life starting from the moment I left. This makes me realize, I've had a full life. I've experienced things no other human has ever had the chance to do. Maybe I'm stuck like this now, but I know one thing is true.

I can't stay here. I've got to go back. My clan needs me.

…Warriors…

(Remember to R&R! I think this is the longest chapter I've ever written! *Claps for herself, but no one else will join in* [meanies] I would have made it longer, but I didn't feel like it and it makes it more dramatic and cliffhangy is I end it here. [don't you guys just love my grammar!])


	9. Chapter 8

(Thank you Jayleaf1 for commenting. I know, being a human sucks. I would much rather be a cat. No homework! Jayleaf1, I've got to ask. Why are you awake so early?! I can barely wake up at six, much less read then! But it's ok because it's a delayed opening today [Jack Frost is playing tricks on the town because it's snowing!] so i can wake up late today and still have time to write a story! So let's begin!)

…Warriors…

"When I turned into a human I had no idea what to do. The only thing I could think of was come back here, but I need to get home," I finish my story.

Home. This is not home. I look around the room. The window above the couch shows that it is pitch black outside. I wonder what time it is.

"It's already 9:30!" exclaims Angie in surprise. "How the time flies when you're insane," she looks up from her watch. "You can stay for the weekend. I don't know how much good that'll do you, but at least it's something."

A pebble of the boulder weighing me down lifts. "Thanks so much!" I say with a huge smile. "How much longer is the weekend?" _Wow,_ I think. _It's strange actually knowing what time it is._

"Today is Friday. I just got home from school 2o minutes before you walked in."

"What year is it?" I ask out of nowhere. It's weird, not having to worry about the date. Things just happen when you're a cat.

"Today is February 15, 2013."

"It's 2013!" I exclaim! "Foxdung! I missed the world ending in 2012! We were going to celebrate! End of the world cake and everything!"

Angie laughs so hard she falls of the couch and I'm right along with her. "You missed a lot of things," she says. "Justin Beiber (you're lucky on that one), Michael Jackson dying, Obama becoming president."

"Oba-who-now?" I say dumbly.

"America's first African American president," Angie informs me. "He just started his second term in office."

"Wow!" I exclaim. "That's awesome!" Well, isn't that an understatement.

All of the sudden I smell a rancid odor. _What is that? _I think. _It smells like something died!_

After sniffing around for a bit I realize it's me.

"Hey Angie, can I borrow some PJs and your shower?" I ask. "How can you even stand to be in the same room with me? I haven't showered in 5 years!"

She laughs, "Of course you can borrow some. I'm just so shocked that you're here that a hardly noticed the smell."

We walk up the stairs to her room and she got some clothes. I walk across the hall to the bathroom and lock the door behind me.

I look around. Everything in here is the same as I left it. Same ugly light yellow wallpaper, same dark purple shower curtain that make the yellow stand out and look even more hideous.

Over the counter that holds the sink is a huge mirror. I put the clothes Angie gave me to the side of the counter and look into the mirror.

_Wow,_ I think. _How did Angie even recognize me?_

I do not look ten anymore.

My face really trimmed down. Not an inch of baby fat anywhere. But it is leafbare. I shouldn't have baby fat. I need to feed the clan first.

My hair is much longer too. When I was ten my hair was about to my shoulders, maybe more. Now it's all the way to my waist. I look at my face and notice my scars are still there. A Small scar is next to my left eye from when I was fighting Onestar. Another one is on the ridge of my nose from when I was fighting another WindClan warrior. I put my hair behind my ear and gasp. The part of my ear that was clawed of by a wolf is still missing. It looks so weird on a human.

I look down at the rest of my body to see my ribs. This time of year there is never enough food, but still- it's unnerving. Humans don't even have fur to cover up anything.

On the bright side, I have abs! I guess years of fighting and hunting really pays off!

_I guess I should try combing my hair,_ I think._It's a tangled mess!_

But before I even attempt to comb it I riffle through the drawers looking for a scissor. When I find the scissor I cut my hair to about shoulder length.

I look in the mirror.

_Good, _I think._ At least I look like a bit like my old self. At least my eyes are the same. Amber._

But in the corner of my reflection I notice my ear and it's tear.

I'm not that same girl.


	10. Chapter 9

(And another Chapter! I'm on a roll! So anyone else slap a jerk today? Only me? Yeah, feel pretty awesome right now. Thanks Jayleaf1 for commenting! I still can't believe you read that early. The first three classes of the day I'm always so tired I can't read anything. [which doesn't help because all my important classes are in the morning!] Thanks Pearlfeather, Basil and Mallow and Moss, [I will never bend under Harry's magic! NNNEEVVVEEERRR] and Featherleap for commenting!)

…Warriors…

I walk out of the bathroom with Angie's borrowed purple tees-shirt and plaid PJ bottoms.

I walk across the hall into Angie's room.

I gasp as I walk in. The room looks completely different. It used to be a normal white room with a dresser and yellow bed sheets. The hardwood floors have been replaced with a dark purple carpet. The white walls are now black and the bed sheets are black with red colored vines. Her simple dresser is still there but it looks so different. The drawers were chipped and has words written all over it. On the walls are band posters. Paramore, Evanescence, Seether, and Flyleaf are just some of the posters that cover the walls. All show dark pictures and creepy images. On the floor next to her bed is a pullout mattress for me to sleep on.

She's siting on her bed doing something on her laptop.

"Yes, I know," she says as she notices me staring at the room. "It looks a lot different. It might seem dark, but it becomes soothing after a while. After you left…" her voice trails off and she sadly looks down.

A wave of guilt hits me. I knew I left everyone behind without warning. But I've never thought. It hurt so much, having to leave everything I've ever known, but I never thought of how everyone else would feel. I didn't think how hard it would be on them.

I sit down on the pull out mattress, "Is that why my family left?"

I know it's a sudden question, but I have to know what happened to them. If anything, I never expected things to change so drastically here.

Angie sighs and looks out the window next to her bed. She draws a line through the frost that has covers her window. "A lot has changed since you left. Friendships torn, families dividing, and worst of all, Friday by Rebecca Black." She laughs a bit, but stops when she sees my confused look. "Let's start with your family."

I panic, suddenly not wanting to know the answer. I sit hugging my knees awaiting the horrific answer.

"Your family left town about a year after you left. They tried to stay, but it was too painful for them. The police and investigators pounded them with questions. Always looking for your "motives" for you leaving. Originally, your parents asked the investigators to help find you, but eventually they all turned sour. They started blaming your family… and your friends. One investigator even thought you were murdered." Angie put her arms protectively around herself.

My heart drops and my eyes start to tear. "I didn't mean to do it," I finally say. Angie looks at me surprised. "I had nowhere to go. I couldn't do anything; I had to leave. But I didn't realize the pain it would cause you all." I realize that as my best friend and one of the last people to be seen with me, she was a prime suspect. "I'm sorry," I grad her hand. "I'm so sorry. I didn't mean for any of this to happen. I sorry for whatever they did to you. I know my stupid apology isn't much, but it's all I have. So please, take it."

To my surprise she hugs me. "I forgive you. Now you're home safe."

But I'm not home. I need to leave. I need my clan back.

…Warriors…

(Sorry this story is taking such a dark turn. I just feel like it fits. I think this will be a lot deeper than my other stories. A lot darker with more feeling. Sorry fellow light hearted people! I hope I can get another chapter up soon. I don't have much homework lately so I think I'll be able to write more. But don't count me on that because my chronic languid might get in the way [Yeah that's right! Used two words from my vocab quiz I have tomorrow!] So see you all soon and remember to R&R!)


	11. Chapter 10

_(Bonjour mes amie! Est-ce que tu aime l'histoire? Est-ce que tu penses Amberstar? Elle est belle? Elle est courageux? Elle est mal? Ecrive-tu a la reviews. _Thank you Jayleaf1 for commenting! Languid means lazy._ Nous est eu l'examen du vocabulaire et "languid a est dans l' examen.__Quoi qu'il en soit, revenons à des choses que vous soucient réellement.)_

…Warriors…

I break our embrace. "What happened to all our friends?" I ask. "Are you all still friends?"

She looks out the window again. "Five years is a long time. Things change; people change. Some," she sighs. "Some you can't even recognize anymore."

"What about Anna? She's still your best friend right?"

Angie scoffs. "Anna wouldn't know a good friend if it slapped her in the face. In fact I did. It didn't help."

"What do you mean?!" I ask in despair. It was always the three of us. Sparrowpelt, the deputy; Amberstar, the leader; and Mudpath, our loyal medicine cat. I guess, not so loyal after all.

"After you left she changed," she gets a little quieter. "Everyone changed… You see," she explains louder. "You were like the glue that kept us all together. You kept everyone sane."

I cock my head to the side, not really following.

"See you're doing it now! You listen, you understand. Even if you don't you try too. You say the most fun and creative things. Even when everyone's down you manage to pick us all up. You make the best out of a bad situation. I mean, you turned into a cat and were smart enough to go look for the Warriors! Do you know how amazing that is! I wouldn't, in a million years, even think of an idea that crazy. It's the crazy that just might work, and for you it always does."

I try to take this all in. I can't really mean that much can I? "I don't understand what this has to do with Anna."

"Anna and I were like sisters. We always fought and bickered. You were the only one who could overcome our differences and bring us all together. You were like our instigator. Without you we always fought. And because of you our fights were very intense."

My heart pounds trying to take this all in. Another thing I caused.

She painfully continues, not wanting to relive her past, "She blamed me for your disappearance. She felt that if I had staying and talked to you the night of your party none of this would have ever happened. She believed that Demean is the reason you left and I should have helped you. But knowing you, I knew the right thing to do was leave. Every time the police questioned her she wouldn't say anything other than it was my fault. We got into a lot of fights over this. Eventually the fights stopped. She stopped talking to me and made a new group of friends. She's one of those snobby popular girls. But that's good; it's where she belongs."

I can't even retain this information. Sweet Anna. Sweet, sensitive Anna is now one of them. I knew she was always different, but I never expected this.

"What about Demean?" I suddenly ask. I wasn't even thinking about him; it just slipped out.

She gets angry. "That jerk moved on to what we always thought he would be: a womanizing, football jock who doesn't give a damn about anything, except his letter jacket. No surprises there."

"He wasn't blamed for my disappearance?" It feels weird to say the word. _Disappearance._ But if anything he should be blamed.

"Somehow he got out of that. I don't even know how! I bet his parents paid them off."

I feel like she wants to say more about him (and rightfully should), but is refraining herself.

"What about Mike?" I ask. _There's no way they're not friends now,_ I think. _They were attached at the hip before I left._

She holds her head. "I'm afraid that one is my fault. One does not supplely let me share the feeling of the Michael." She looks down at me. I'm completely lost. "Mike and I started dating about a year and a half ago and we didn't actually end on good terms."

"Wait, what?!" if anything I never would have expected those two to go out. They were so… so… friends. "How did you-"

"I really don't want to talk about it… Besides, he's dating that senior Amanda Farbaniac now." Angie hugs her knees and looks out the window.

_I guess she's still not over him,_ I think. I look back at all those times the three of all would hang out together. I think of playing Warriors at my house and all those days on the swings. I never would I ever suspect they would ever date. Or did I?

After a few minutes of quiet I ask more questions, "What about Maggie and Margret? Tony and Josh? What about Mac?"

"Maggie and Margret left our group of friends. They were just so one track minded about everything. They couldn't deal with the fact that you were actually gone. The rest of us tried to make the best of the situation, but they just couldn't. They left our group shortly after you left. But they are happy now. They're dating these two guys Alex and David. They're a bit odd but perfect for them."

I can just picture them, happy and with these guys. They deserve to be happy.

"What about Josh and Tony?" I ask. They were always such good friends. A bit crazy, but always fun.

"When Mike and I broke up they stayed friends with Mike," she answers. She sounds like she's trying to hold back tears.

I realize how serious this break up was. I don't think I should ask this but… "Did anyone else take his 'side'?"

She takes a deep breath "Mac and Kori did too."

The full price of her break up dawns on me. She's not just alone on a Friday night. She's always alone; she has no friends. I am completely devastated. I can't imagine our friendship without Anna and Mike. But a small part of me is grateful: This darkness, this cloud is misery isn't just my fault. Its there's too. Everyone's; they all abandoned her. What could have possessed them all to leave her? I couldn't have just been a bad break up.

I turn the light on her dresser off and lie down on my mattress.

"Goodnight," I say. I can't possibly listen to any more bad news today.

"Goodnight," she answers in a whisper. I can hear her breathing in and out heavily; trying to avoid tears.

What happened to everyone? Times have really changed.

…Warriors…

(Sorry for the depressing chapter, but I had too. Amberstar needs to know what happened to all her friends. Remember to R&R!)


	12. Chapter 11

(Thank you ICanHasCheesebrg for the super long comment! I know my story is a really clichéd idea, but I like it. Haha anyway thanks so much! Sorry the story is really depressing, but I really felt like I needed to write it. ShastamaeFirepool, I know how you feel and how Makayla feels. This happened to me a few years ago. What I did is just go out and talked to random people. (And I'm crazy shy; it was one of the hardest things I've ever done.) But now I have friends really care about me and are just the weirdest, randomest people ever. I know it might be hard but tell her to try it. Believe me, it's worth it. Also, thank you jayleaf1 for commenting!

Anyway, let's leave the giant feel pile and move on to the giant feels pile in the story. Yeah, either way, you people have to deal with all these feels. Just having a feels week. The new episode of Doctor Who almost made me cry!)

…Warriors…

I wake up to the most warm and delicious smell in the air. My mouth waters as I sit up and breathe in the sweat, savory smell. My eyes fly open as I realized the smell.

_Bacon!_

I leap out of bed.

_Bacon!_ I think. _I haven't had bacon in years!_ I run down the stairs. _This is how ThunderClan up in the morning! We'd never be late for a patrol again!_

Then I stop half way down the stairs. I realize what I said, and where I am. My heart drops. ThunderClan is miles away and they don't even want me anymore. I'm at Angie's house because I have nowhere else to go. My family moved to who knows where. And I have no idea what to do next.

"Do you want two strips or three?" Angie calls from the base of the stairs. I come out of my depressing trance and continue down the stairs into the kitchen. Angie is sitting with her mom at the comfy little dining table. I walk over to see bacon, eggs, pancakes, sausage, and freshly cut oranges on the table.

"Wow, this is incredible!" I say to Angie's mother.

"Oh, it was nothing!" She says with a sincere smile.

Weird, when I used to come over her mom never made a proper breakfast. She always went and bought bagels and on special occasions, donuts.

"Sorry for the huge fuss," Angie whispers to me as I sit down. "I haven't had friends over in months so she thought it would be a good idea to go all out."

"I don't mind," I whisper back. "I haven't had bacon in years!" I say a lot louder.

"How come?" Angie's mother asks.

"Oh, um, my parents are vegetarians," I say quickly. "They always make vegetable dishes." I take a spoonful of eggs and three strips of bacon. Then I take some sausage and five pancakes.

"Well, I see it's made you very healthy and strong," she says as she stares at my arms. I'm reaching for the maple syrup and notice the muscles in my arms flexing. She must be noticing that too.

I quickly pull my arms under the table; happy that Angie's shirt is oversized on me. "Um… yes, my dad is a personal trainer at a gym so, um, I work out a lot."

"I can see," she says and takes a bite of eggs.

When I finally feel the attention is drawn away from me, I pick up my fork and continue to eat.

After a few minutes of silence Angie's mother asks me another question. "I didn't see you use the phone last night. Do your parents know you're here?"

"Yes, I called them on my cellphone," I say quickly. "Besides, they're on a business trip the rest of the week and aren't home anyway," I spew out of my mouth before I realize what I'm doing.

Angie gives me a "what do you think you're doing" look.

"Oh, really?" Angie's mom asks, surprised. "They left you all alone all week?"

"Well, I'm a really responsible child. I can handle taking care of myself for a week." _And an entire clan,_ I think. "Plus I have Angie here to help me. She's been such a good friend through all of this."

"Well that's sweet. Where did they go?"

"They went to um…" My mind goes blank; I can't remember the name of anywhere! I look around, seeing of any objects can help me think of a place. I finally notice the maple syrup. "CANADA! THEY'RE IN CANADA!"

"This time of year!" she says. "So chilly!"

If only the attention wasn't on my right now. "Where's your husband? I thought he doesn't work on weekends?" I blurt out before I know what I'm saying.

He always used to say he hated his office job and the only good thing about it is that he got off on weekends.

"Oh, he's at work," she says somberly.

"My dad got a promotion last year," Angie whispers to me. "He works every weekend now."

We finish up breakfast and clean up the table.

"I'm doing to do some laundry," says Angie's mom as she heads into the basement.

"Sorry for mentioning your dad," I say to Angie when her mom is out of earshot. "I didn't know he works all the time now."

"Don't sweat it," Angie says back to me as she touches my shoulder. "You had to talk about your parents too. That must have been hard."

It was. I really miss them. And my brothers. I wonder what they look like now. Andrew was five the last time I saw him. He's at least nine now! I wonder if he still has the same curly brown hair. I bet he does. A little smile creeps onto my face. I bet he's still as pale as a ghost. And little Adam; he was only three and now he's eight! I wonder if he still slurs his words together and if he still pronounces "three" as "tree." I frown. He probably got over that. He's probably doing all sorts of crazy things. I wonder what they're doing right now. I wonder if they miss me. I wonder how much I hurt them.

"What do you want to do now?" Angie asks, snapping me out of my trance.

Such a simple question; such a simple question that I have no answer to. Do I go look for my clan? Do I look for my family? Should I find a way to break out of my human bonds? Should I enroll in school? Do I even remember how to read?

"What to watch TV?" Angie asks. "There's this really funny show called How I Met Your Mother that I think is on."

"Yes," I answer simply. "TV. Let's start with that." And we walk to the living room.

…Warriors…

(By the way, to any Whovians reading this. Help make April 23rd a holiday. All across the internet Whovians are joining together to celebrate Silence Day. On this day make tally marks on your hands and other seeable body parts. April 23rd is the day the Impossible Astronaut (the first episode the Silence were in) aired. SPREAD THE WORD! WE'RE DOING THIS!

Also, I have a very depressing thing to tell all of you. See I thought of this story about five years ago. I had a dream and poof! Amberstar was born! Right after my dream I drew every scene I could remember about it and eventually I can to a huge story. The thing is I got out of a drawing habit before I finished the last story. Today was the last page that I actually drew. So I'm not really going off of anything from now on and I don't know how much I'll just be able to write. I have a sort of direction of where the story is going, but it's not like a have blue prints anymore. So… story might be awkward for a little while. But I'm sure it will be fine! It actually, probably won't affect anything at all. See you soon! Remember to R&R!)


	13. Chapter 12

(Thank you Basil and Mallow and Moss, jayleaf1, ShastamaeFirepool, Aleeta6Well, Fallingrose, and Mossypelt11 [OMGSC! I read Guardians of Ga'hoole too!] for commenting! I didn't get everything from a dream. I just kind of connected some of the events I saw into a dream. Like I saw pieces of the first story, Amberstar fighting some wolves and becoming leader, her kits, Jayfeather screaming at her as she turns into a human, and a few other events that I can't tell you about yet. So I kind of connected everything I saw into stories. ShastamaeFirepool, thanks for getting it! Thanks Basil and Mallow and Moss for the advice! I think I'm getting an idea of where to go next, or at least what to do in the next chapter. [Just taking it step by step now])

…Warriors…

"It's been two days," says Skydream as she walks through the forest with Jayfeather, Lionblaze, and Fallenleaves. A light snow crunches under their feet. "Shouldn't we do something?"

"What can we do?" asks Fallenleaves. "We can't look for her anymore. The clan has looked everywhere and we know they won't find her."

"And the things in the forest. Before they were just on the edge of the territory, but now they're moving closer," says Skydream. "So many different scents; I can't even distinguish them!"

"The clan's in a panic," says Fallenleaves. "They don't know what to do with Mom missing. I" think some of them are starting to give up on looking for her. I think they're giving up on her.

"Maybe… maybe we should give up our hope on her," says Jayfeather in a cracking voice. His heart aches just saying the words. Everyone stops walking and turns to look at him. "We made her leave. Besides she… _she's a twoleg."_ He drops to the ground as if his legs are broken. A part of him is broken. "Lionblaze should go to the Moonpool and receive his lives. The clan needs to keep moving forward."

_Scratch!_

Lionblaze unsheathes his claws and hits Jayfeather across the face.

Jayfeather falls to the ground, not even trying to defend himself. Everyone else freezes where they are.

"You gave up everything for her!" Screams Lionblaze. "You lied to your clan, StarClan, and even your own family!" He swipes at him again. "And you're telling us to give up! You could have had your position taken away or even kicked out of the clan!" Lionblaze strikes again. "And this is the end of the line! The clan is in shambles! Everyone's looking for someone they can't find! Things are lurking all over the forest! I knew from the start she was crazy! I knew she was no good for any of us. But like it or not we need that lying foxheart to save the clan! So no, I'm not going to the Moonpool! But you are Jayfeather; figure out how to get that mousebrained, untrustworthy, kittypet back!"

…Warriors…

(Hey, guys! Sorry this chapter is so short. I just thought it would be needed; see what's happening in ThunderClan. Things are pretty messes up. Anyone else enjoy Lionblaze's freak out/ heroic speech. Anyone else feel like there should be a crowd cheering for him after it? No? just me? Oh, well. Anyway thanks for reading and remember to R&R!)


	14. Chapter 13

"What day is it?" I ask as I look at the chess board. I just keep staring at it. Chess makes no sense to me.

"It's Sunday," says Angie as he moves a pawn up a space.

"I thought you had to move it two spaces!

No, you can move it one _or_ two spaces. Did you not listen to me at all when I was explaining the rules?"

"You said a lot of things!" I say.

"How did lose track of the days already? You've only been here two days."

"Time moves so differently when you're a Warrior. Days don't pass; the sun sets and rises and you have your routine. It's not like we have a calendar to record every single day ever. You just go with the flow and then the seasons change. At least, that's how I see it." I blindly move my pawn up two spaces.

"Gotcha!" Angie somehow moves her horse piece thing and takes the pawn I just moved.

"That can't possibly be legal!" I scream. "How did you move the horse head all the way from there to here?"

"The _knight_ moves in an "L" shape," she responds calmly with a smile on her face; obviously enjoying beating me. "It moves two spots and then one in a 90 degree angle from where ever you are. Get it?"

"Sure," I answer. I have no clue how she did that.

I blindly move another pawn up a space.

Angie stares at the board. She draws lines in the air thinking of her next move. "So no sense of time, huh?"

"Yes, that's why when I turned back into a person I had no idea how old I was. I could have been 30 for all I knew."

"God knows you have more life experience than most 30 year olds." She says, not looking at me. She's still drawing in the air. She takes her simple black pawn and moves it forward one place.

"You took that long to just move a mousebrained pawn?"

She gives a devilish smile. "You'll see."

I look down at the board; having no idea what to do next.

"What are you going to do?" she asks.

What am I going to do? This is the last night Angie said I could stay here. I can't just live my life as a human; I have to get back to my clan. But how am I going to do that? Besides, while I'm here I need to do something. Maybe I should go to school, or somehow try to live my life as a normal teen. As if I'm anything normal.

And then I got an idea; a crazy, idiotic, peculiar idea. That just might work. Without saying a word I get up and walk into the kitchen. Angie's mom is in the living room doing paperwork. I walk over to where the kitchen phone is.

I think of everything that's happened to me. Losing my parents, friends, and the rest of my family; figuring out how to find the Warriors; my first winter as an apprentice; training; becoming the leader after Brambleclaw and Firestar died; figting wolves and Windlcan; Jayfeather; my kits; everyone in my clan; saying goodbye; Jayfeather screaming at me; telling me to leave; finding out what happened to my friends; finding out what happened to Angie.

"No! I scream as I burst into tears. Everything crashes over me at once. All my feeling and emotion collapse into my screams! "This can't be happening! Everything gone!"

I hear Angie's mother's footstep walk to the kitchen. Before she enters to room I grab the phone.

"They can't be dead! They can't be!" I scream into the phone. "But, sir, they're my parents! They can't be gone!" I put the phone back on the hook and fall onto the ground as I continue to cry.

"What happened?!" Angie's mom asks as she kneels next to me. She puts her hand on my shoulder.

"That was a man from the Canadian border crossing, um, place. My parents were in a car accident near the border and they're dead!"

"Oh my! I'm so, so sorry, Amber! What are you going to do?"

"I don't know! I don't have any relatives who can take me in! It's just my parents and I. And we didn't officially buy the house yet so I can't even stay there." I keep crying; thinking about all the pain my life has brought me. I need to continue the lie.

"What can we do for you?" she asks.

"Anything, but please don't put me in foster care!" _What am I doing?!_ I think to myself. _I have to finish this lie before it gets out of control!_ "The System is terrible and children never come out unscarred." I move my hair from in front of my ripped ear. "I was in foster care when I was younger; I never want to go through that again."

She looks down at me; terrified of my believable lie. "You can stay here!" She says quickly. "We can adopt you! Nothing bad will ever happen to you again." She hugs me.

"Really?" I say, actually quite relieved. At least now I have a stable home.

"So how do we adopt you?" she asks.

"All, um, you need to do is fill out some paperwork. I can get that," I say. _Time to do some extreme googling, _I think.

"And you're already enrolled in the school so I'll just have a meeting with your principle to switch over the paperwork there."

"NO!" I scream as I stand up. "Um, no, I mean. You've done so much for me already; I can do that myself."

"Are you sure?" she asks, surprised. "We're your parents now. I can take care of that for you."

"No, you've done too much for me already, really it is fine," I start walking toward the basement door. "I'm just going to play chess with Angie. I'll figure all that other stuff out later."

I wave and start walking downstairs.

"Amber wait!" she says to me. I stop and turn around. "You're so brave."

"Yeah, I get that a lot."

…Warriors…

(Thanks for reading this chapter! And remember to R&R!)


	15. Chapter 14

(WHAT'S UP PEOPLES?! [well, warriors… but tencnically you're all sitting at home on your computers right now so… Kittypets. Now that's just insulting, sorry about that. Back to my previous statement. WHAT'S UP PEOPLES?!] Thank you jayleaf1 [OMGSC! I love Gylphie! She's so adorable! And Twilight, that dude's pretty cool too; I love how he always sings!], Featherleap, Mossypelt11, RandomWarriorsFan228, Basil and Mallow and Moss, Girl Who Loves Her Cartoons, Skylark, and Fallingrose for commenting! Thank you all so much for caring and actually reading my story! Just to let you guys know I added the last chapter just so Amberstar has something to do while she's a human. I mean she can't be standing on the side of the road for the rest of the book. She can't just change back into a cat and she needs to have a place to like while she's a person.)

…Warriors…

_BEEP! BEEP! BEEP!_

I jump out of my nest and unsheathe my claws.

_Wait, I'm a human,_ I think. _And I'm in Angie's bedroom._

The beeping doesn't stop.

"What in StarClan's good name is that?!" I scream.

"It's call an alarm clock, genius," Angie says maliciously. "Get used to it." She gets out of bed and throws clothes at me. "Welcome to high school."

I get ready and it all comes back to me. After I became part of this family I found some fake adoption papers online. After that I signed up for high school and went school shopping. And as much fun as it was searching the racks of Staples for old notebooks, I couldn't help but think about my clan.

What are they doing?

How are they handling this?

What did Jayfeather tell them?

If I can turn back into a cat, would they ever let me join them?

I miss them. My heart hurts.

We walk downstairs and Angie's mom is making pancakes. We sit at the table and I pour myself some orange juice.

"Is that Angie's shirt?" her mother ask as she turns around.

I look down at my purple sweater. Angie gave me all her clothes from 8th grade that don't fit her anymore. (Yes I'm that short.) I give her an awkward smile. "Um… yes. I forgot to get my stuff from my house. I'll get it after school."

"Are you sure you don't want me to do it?" she asks sympathetically.

"NO!" I scream. "Um… I mean, that won't be necessary. You've done so much for me already. Angie and I can do it."

_Where am I going to get money for new clothes?_ I think.

I put the thought out of my mind.

…Warriors…

Angie's mom drops us in front of the huge brick building. It looks more like a penitentiary than an educational facility.

My stomach is doing summersaults as a walk toward the building. I'm holding on to my backpack so tightly my knuckles are white

I grab the door handle. My arms feel so weak I can't even open it.

I hear a chuckle and someone grabs the handle from me. "Sometimes the door's a bit sticky," says a male voice. I look up to see a smiling boy with brown hair and eyes. "You must be ne-"he freezes midsentence when he recognizes my face. His mouth drops and his eyes are wide. "How… What…" Now I recognize him. Frank Ferrari. He used to eat his boogers when we were kids.

"I'm new," I say to Frank in a panic and quickly go into the school.

All of the sudden Angie is next to me, making me jump.

"Why did Frank look at me like that?" I ask her.

"To think, any girl would love to have a football player look at them and you're complaining," she teases. I don't laugh. "You're the biggest thing to happen to this town," she says. "Your disappearance changed everything. Everyone knows who you are, or rather, who you were. You should probably try to lay low for now."

_Great,_ I think. _I just wanted a place to stay and something to do and now this!_

I can feel everyone's eyes burning into my back. Everywhere I look there are people recognizing me. Some just stare, other take pictures with their phones, or text their friends about me. Everyone really does know about me.

I walk into the main office to pick up my schedule. Behind the desk is a little old woman with white hair.

"Hello, my name's-"

Her eyes widen as she actually looks at me. Ale-"

"No, my name's Amber Star. I'm the new student."

She keeps a stupefied look on her face as she hands me the paper. Now I remember her. She used to work at the elementary school I went to. She was a librarian.

_This is going to be a long day,_ I think as I walk to me first class: Algebra.

…Warriors…

_Last class until lunch,_ I think to myself. What a relief that will be.

High school is miserable! First off, everyone keeps staring at me as if I have a second head.

Or as if I start turning into a cat.

I shake away the glorious thought.

Algebra makes no sense. There are _letters in the math problems._ But I got a window seat so I just look outside the whole time. I saw that kids Frank smoking on the football field with a few… how to put this… _underachieving_ students. He's hitting on a girl with spiked purple hair and a nose ring.

Next I had US History. If boring had a name it would be Mr. Cauble. I have never seen a more monotone person in my life. We learned about the first five presidents. I got bored so I drew funny mustaches on them.

Now I'm going to biology. Which is about animals or something? That sounds cool I guess.

I walk into the room and it looks so different from the other classrooms. There are only four desks in the entire class room, but each is a big lab desk that sits four people. Around the room are animal posters. Also all kind of test tubes and chemicals are around for experiments. Everyone else is in their seats already. Many of them are whispering about me. I've seen most of these kids in the hallways before so luckily this isn't news to them. It was much worse this morning. Each desk has about three kids.

"Hello," I jump as I hear the teacher say. I didn't see her behind me. "You must be the new student." She smiles at me with big, white teeth. I just stare at her. Even her black eyes seem to smile with her. She extends a dark chocolate colored hand. "My name's Mrs. Perkins. I'll be your biology teacher. You must be the new student, Amber Star." I just shake my head. There is just something so comforting about her. "You can sit over there." She points to a desk in the corner. I didn't even notice the fifth one. There is one lone boy sitting at that table. He stares at me with a blank expression.

I walk over to the table and sit next to him. I look and study his face. Maybe I know him. I stare into his warm eyes and then look at his nicely cut brown hair. Then I look at his thin face. I don't recognize him. "Hi," I say. "My name's Amber… but you probably know that. Everyone knows who I am… or who they think I am. Anyway what's your name?"

"Jack," he says quietly and looks away.

I give his a weird look and look to the front of the classroom. Mrs. Perkins already started writing notes. I get out my notebook and start writing.

…Warriors…

(Thanks for reading! Sorry, it's not the most exciting chapter. It's ok, the next one is about the first gathering without Amberstar. And if anyone has any ideas to put in the story leave a comment and I might add it in. Thanks everyone, remember to R&R!)


	16. Chapter 15

(Thanks Jayleaf1, Someone, and Basil and Mallow and Moss for commenting. And thank you so much BMM [that's what I'm calling Basil and Mallow and Moss 'cause that's a really long name!] for saying I'm your favorite author. That really means a lot to me. I'll totally check out your story on Frost! Sounds awesome!

OK BMM JUST READ YOUR ENTIRE PROFILE [yes, I'm procrastinating. Sue me] AND DUDES, WE HAVE THE SAME TASTE IN MOVIES, BOOKS, AND MUSIC! BY THE WAY, I SUGGEST DOCTOR WHO CAUSE YOU GUYS WOULD BE AWESOME WHOVIANS

Oh and I lied about the gathering thing. But it's about Jayfeather so it's ok!)

…Warriors…

"For the last time, you're not coming with me!" Jayfeather screams again. "It's too dangerous and you're not even a medicine cat!" He arranges more poppy seeds in their area.

"What do you mean not a medicine cat?" Fallenleaves screams back. "I _was_ your apprentice before Mom, _Lionblaze_," he pauses for a moment as he says Lionblaze's name. He never did that before. He's always been able to call him Dad, "and you decided I'm too dangerous to have in camp for long periods of time. You just made me a warrior so I wouldn't mess with me inventions in camp! I even memorized all the herbs and their properties!"

_It's true, _thinks Jayfeather. Fallenleaves was his apprentice. Fallenleaves always made _things_.

Like the thing he made right before Amberstar left.

"It's a catapult!" Jayfeather remembers Fallenleaves saying. "It can fling things from our camp to another! Instead of attacking and hand to hand combat, we can throw rocks at the other clans and we don't have to get hurt. Think of the livers we could save!"

Unfortunately his contraption fell on the left wall of the camp. Everyone's still trying to find a way to fix it.

This often happens with the things Fallenleaves makes. Sometimes his things would get out of control and tear apart the camp. When he was Jayfeather's apprentice, instead of sorting herbs or other simple things he had to do inside of camp, he would always make his things in camp and caused a lot of trouble. Jayfeather could only imagine what would happen if Fallenleaves catapult fell inside camp. Once they made him a warrior he would make his things on patrols and the camp wouldn't get completely destroyed.

That's, at least, the reason everyone thinks Jayfeather decided not to mentor him anymore.

The true is that he couldn't take mentoring his own son. He was afraid that he would accidentally spill the secret or that StarClan might tell Fallenleaves when they visited the Moonpool.

_But we have nothing to lose now_, thinks Jayfeather. Maybe he should take Fallenleaves to the Moonpool with him.

He shakes away the thought away. _That's not his destiny, _thinks Jayfeather. _But if that isn't, what is?_

Before he can think any longer about it he walks out of his den and starts his journey to the Moonpool.

…Warriors…

Jayfeather walks up the ancient rock that leads to the Moonpool. The air has become increasingly colder.

_I guess the sun is setting, _he thinks.

He walks over to the Moonpool and puts the tip of his nose in it. He gently falls into sleep.

_Jayfeather finds himself next to a pool of water._

I guess this is the other side of the Moonpool, _he thinks._

_He jumps onto a rock and looks around. Where is everyone? Usually there is some to talk to him._

_Then he hears voices, "-stone changed her."_

_He walks in the direction of some tall grass that he heard the voices coming from._

"_Finally!" Jayfeather jumps back as he sees who's in front of him. "Took you long enough!"_

_When he finally orients himself he sees Mousefur in front of him._

_Behind her he sees Firestar and Sandstorm siting on a rock together, their tails intertwined. Everyone looks so young!_

_Mousefur doesn't have a single grey fur and looks at tough and lean as any cat in ThunderClan now. Then, Jayfeather notices Firestar is saying something to a cat at the base of the rock._

_He walks around Mousefur to see who the cat is._

"_Fallenleaves?!" Jayfeather gasps. Firestar, Sandstorm, and Fallenleaves all turn to him._

"_Jayfeather," Firestar says. "Nice of you to join us!"_

"_It's been a long time," says Sandstorm._

"_What are you doing here?" Jayfeather asks Fallenleaves, ignoring everyone else._

"_I followed you here." Fallenleaves says confidently. "I want to help my clan and the only way to do that is bring Mom back."_

_Jayfeather stand there speechless. How can he object to that? _He just wants to help his clan_, thinks Jayfeather._

"_We've already told him what we've found," says Sandstorm. "Besides, it's safer that you don't go alone."_

"_Go?" asks Jayfeather. "Go where?"_

"_I'll explain everything," says Firestar. "We already know that Amberstar was a twoleg. Then she turned into a cat. But how? What made her change so drastically from the time she was a twoleg to the time she was a cat? We did some research and found the only explanation. A stone."_

"_A stone?' echoes Jayfeather. "What can a stone do?"_

"_It's not just any stone. It's a part of the moonstone. Remember that scratch she got before she left?"_

_Jayfeather though back to it. He remembered the pebble sized whole she had in her paw._

"_Somehow, when she was a twoleg, she got a hold of a pebble that was part of the moonstone. The moonstone is ancient. It's falling apart; crumbling. We've found out that some of the oldest spirits still live there. To stubborn to move on with the rest of us. We believe the power that still resides in that stone gave her the power to change."_

_He stops, giving Jayfeather a moment to let this all sink in._

"_What does this have to do with us?" asks Jayfeather._

"_Because, we believe it can do the reverse effect," says Sandstorm._

"_If," continues Firestar, "you two go the moonstone and become twolegs. We believe you can find Amberstar."_

_Jayfeather feels like his heart stops. Everything around him seems to fade away._

_Change into twolegs? That's… that's…_

"_I know it's a lot to ask of you," says Firestar. "But if you don't-" all of the sudden he changes. He looks straight ahead, unblinking. His voice becomes serious and unnerving. "If you don't, the darkness will return."_

…Warriors…

(Thanks for reading this chapter! Remember to R&R! And if you have any ideas for the story, write it in a comment and I might put it in the story!)


	17. Chapter 16

(I have horribly great news. I'm sick today! Along with the burning, groggy feeling in my head I was able to scrap all of my remaining strength to write the last chapter. I was so pleased with it that I think I can muster out another.

So I'm thinking of what I am going to do with the next few chapters. I know for a fact that I am going to be switching back and forth from Amber to Jay to back at the clan, but I don't know how it's all going to go down yet. I have some ideas for the story. But I need filler pieces of what to do until then.

I think I might not do much on Amberstar for a bit. I might focus on Jay and the clan. I mean as much fun high school is, I think writing about actual warrior stuff would be better.

Sorry, just ranting to myself… back to the story.

Thanks ShastamaeFirepool for commenting!)

…Warriors…

Finally, lunch!

I walk into the cafeteria and it's like I never left.

The same "popular" kids sit in the center tables. But instead of Pokémon trading cards all the guys wear their football varsity jackets. Instead of pink colored clothing, all the girls wear cheerleading uniforms. Could you wear anything worse when it's snowing out?

I look closer to see Anna siting with them. The boy I saw earlier, the one I saw smoking. What was his name? Frank. Frank, arm is draped around her. I wonder if she knows that he's cheating on her.

I shrug. Probably not.

I look again to see… Demean. He's sitting their flirting with two cheerleaders. They giggle at his stupid jokes. Anger rises in my stomach. Even after everything that happened he's still a jerk. I mean the day after he breaks a girl's heart she goes missing. And he doesn't feel a shred of guilt? How much I would love to walk over there and claw him. I would tell him everything he did to me.

But without him would I ever have been a warrior? I have no idea what caused my change, but could anything that happened that night be the cause of it? If so, can it be repeated?

I stop thinking and gasp when I see my friends. They're all so _happy,_ sitting at the same type of table near a garbage bin. It's like I never left.

But I did.

And the subtle changes start to sink in. Mike's talking to Tony, his arm around the girl Angie was talking about. Amanda.

Angie was right about one thing, she isn't very good looking. Her short brown hair seems cheap and greasy. And she is kind of fat. This is kind of surprising when you see the lean muscle of Mike's arm around her. I heard in the hallways that Mike's the star of the track team. His long legs make him a perfect runner.

I look at my other friends, noticing how they've changed. Tony and Josh look so different. I heard Josh also joined the track team. He throws shot-put. Tony joined the wrestling team. Gone are their baby fat; both have broad shoulders and muscles.

Mac must have not filled out yet. He's still lanky, his hair as curly as ever. I'm shocked for a second as he kisses Kori. _On the lips_!

What?! Kori and Mac are dating too?!

A few more people sit at their table that I don't recognize. A Hispanic girl with long, braided hair says something to Tony. He smirks, but she just laughs. Another girl, with long blond hair and blue eyes sits next to Kori. She's covered head to toe in big jewelry. She has at least four rings on each hand and more bracelets than I can count. A huge leopard print cross necklace hangs from her neck. It is by far the ugliest thing I've ever seen, but somehow she makes it work. A short African American boy sits next to Tony. Josh is trying to grab the big head phones off his head. The boy laughs when Josh can't reach. The Hispanic girl runs over to the boy and grabs to headphones from his hand. She laughs as he yells and runs after her.

I look across the cafeteria to see Angie siting at a table alone.

I walk over and take a seat across from her.

"Hey," I say as I sit down. "Is this where you always sit?"

"Yes, I rather sit alone then listen to them."

I understand what she means. To see all her friends laughing, having a great time. It must be miserable.

I look around and I see the table Maggie and Margret are sitting at. They sit with their boyfriends, the ones Angie told me about. One is lanky with dark hair and a black sleeveless shirt.

_He must be freezing! _I think. Maggie sit's next to him. She's wearing the same dark clothes she's always worn, but now coupled by dark make up. She laughs at something he says. She seems happy.

Across from her is Margret. She's sitting next to a short boy. She says something and he laughs. They seem oddly great together.

All of the sudden I feel eyes staring at me. I mean, they have been all day, but this feels… different. I look around and see my lab partner, Jack. He meets my gaze and blushes, turning his head away.

What's with this kid?

"Do you know anything about Jack?" I ask Angie.

"Jack Smith? Not much. He moved here about a year or two after you left. He's really quiet. I don't know much about him."

I shrug and take a bite of my sandwich. I look over to see what my friends are doing. Josh and Tony are fighting over a sandwich. Can things really have changed this much?

…Warriors…

(Thanks for reading! Sorry the chapter is so boring. I promise the next one will be better! Remember to R&R!)


	18. Chapter 17

(Thanks Jayleaf1, TearsFallKWOHKHFS, BMM, thekittykat, Blossomstar, LatiosJayfeather, and smartblueladybug for commenting! Sorry I haven't written in a while. As I have told some of you, I've been super busy with projects and school work. I'll definitely be writing more frequently this summer. I can't promise anything, but I'll try to write a chapter every week! (But I also have SAT tutoring three times a week so I don't know how solid this plan is) Moss, I can't wait for the next chapter of Frost to come out! I love your story; it's so creative! And I can't wait for the Percy Jackson one! And, thekittykat, I will definitely be adding your cat to the story. I know exactly what to do with that character. Put in a comment any more details you have on her! [Other People reading this should check them out too])

…Warriors…

"Maybe we should rest here," says Jayfeather. He and Fallenleaves have been traveling for three days. Jayfeather moved his head, as if looking behind him. The Tribe of Rushing Water's waterfall is just a dot in the rocky landscape.

Yesterday, Fallenleaves had suggested they should stop and camp with the tribe.

"No," Jayfeather said. "I don't want to deal with them."

Jayfeather new his old friends might help them out, but he didn't want it. He needed to find the moonstone as fast as possible. He had no time for kindness.

But they had been traveling for two days straight, only to stop for food once.

Fallenleaves grunts as he tumbles to the ground. "Finally," he lies on his back and sticks his paws in the air. "We've been walking so long I can't feel my paws."

"Rest," Jayfeather says as he curls into a ball. "We'll start walking again in the morning."

"But that's only half a night of sleep!" exclaims Fallenleaves. If it wasn't for Jayfeather's stubbornness, Fallenleaves would be fast asleep. "We've been walking to long for half a night's worth of rest!"

"We can't waste any time. We need to find the moonstone."

"What is wrong with you?!" screams Fallenleaves with the last of his energy. "Why can't we sleep! Why can't we eat? Why can't-"

"Because I can't sleep!" retorts Jayfeather. He gets up and shoves his face in Fallenleaves. "I can't eat!" He turns around and slumps down. Slowly he closes his eyes. "Every time I sleep all I see are her eyes. But not the eyes we know of. I see those _twoleg eyes._" He spits the last two words out like venom.

All he can think about is her eyes. Those big orbs of amber swimming in white. So unlike a cats. Her pupils completely round. Big and sad.

_Get out of my head!_ He thinks. He tries to bat them away with his paw but I t doesn't work. Finally he lies down, "Good luck getting your precious sleep." He says to Fallenleaves who's just been staring at his father. Sympathy crosses his face. "I know I won't."

…Warriors…

"_No! please! Don't go!" Jayfeather screams into the empty forest. He runs faster and fasters, covering all of ThunderClan's territory and beyond._

_All if the sudden he sees a shadow on a tree. A cat shadow. He follows it, leading him deeper into the unfamiliar territory._

_Another shadow and another! He's running to keep up with the shadows on the trees._

_Eventually, he is led to a wide, calm pond. Not a single ripple through it. Behind the pool are big unsteady rocks. As if any moment they would topple over._

_On the side of one rock he can see a tiny cat shadows; if he blinked he would have missed it._

"_Jayfeather," calls a quiet, familiar voice. "Jayfeather help me." She says calmly._

"_I'm coming!" he screams to the rocks. The shadow is slowly moving up the rocks._

_Jayfeather looks around until he realizes that the fastest way across is to swim._

_Before he can jump in a brown half circle bobs out of the water. He stands their puzzled as the ripples meet the shore._

"_Jayfeather help!" she screams. He looks up to see her faint outline on top of the rocks._

"_I'm coming, Amberstar!" he screams as he jumps into the water. All of the sudden the circle moves toward him. Gradually the thing gets up and hovers over him. _

It's her! _He thinks._

_Amberstar's human form hunches over him; her eyes wild and claws extended. A sadistic, deranged smile spreads across her face._

"_You think you can save her!" she bellows in an unrecognizable, dark voice. "You think you can bring her back? She's gone!"_


	19. Chapter 18

Jayfeather woke up with a start. He's panting and moving his head wildly.

"What's the matter?!" Fallenleaves asks him, looking around to see if anything had frightened him.

"It's, nothing," Jayfeather says, still panting. "Just a nightmare is all." Jayfeather got up and felt the ache in his paws. He felt like he had been running. "Let's get moving; we have a long way to go."

…Warriors…

Brackenfur, Rosepetal, Cherrypelt, and Jadeleaf burst into camp. "Lionblaze!" Calls Brackenfur. They all look to the leaders den waiting for Lionblaze to come out.

Lionblaze exits the warriors den causing everyone to turn. Brackenfur looks from the den to Lionblaze as he pads over to them.

"I'm not taking her den," says Lionblaze, soundly. "She'll be back." He tries to change the topic. "What happened?

"Well," begins Brackenfur, "we found the scents were moving closer into the territory. We found a great musky, fresh scent in the abandoned twoleg nest. It seems that, whatever they are, they camped their last night-"

We covered the rest of the territory," cuts in Jadeleaf, "but it seems there was no new scent. They must have left the territory when they woke up."

"They're moving closer, Lionblaze," says Brackenfur. "What should we do?"

"Well, um, we must prepare for battle. We must protect our land. But not yet; let's wait and see what happens," Lionblaze says, completely unsure of himself.

"How will we go into battle without our medicine cat?" asks Cherrypelt. "Where is Jayfeather?"

"He's um, collecting rare herbs that are far from here. He'll be back soon."

"Why does he need an herb that's outside the territory?" asks Jadeleaf. "We have plenty in here."

"Lionblaze felt like he was drowning. _How can I keep lying when I'm in charge of the clan?_ Lionblaze thinks_. Amberstar could do it,_ he thinks bitterly. _Jayfeather, where are you?_

…Warriors…

"I caught two huge mice!" Fallenleaves says triumphantly. "I don't even know how, this time of year; especially in these mountains!" Luckily the mountains were getting smaller and less rocky. Some valleys even had grass and nice cold streams; perfect for drinking out of. Fallenleaves lies down in the rock, looking out onto the cliff next to him. On the right, green grass, trees, and a huge lake so big he couldn't see the end of it. "Wow," he says, "That's incredible."

"What is?" says feather asks, swiping a mouse from under Fallenleaves paws. He plunks down next to him.

"This view," answers Fallenleaves in astonishment. "I can see forest and plains, and even a lake so big I can't see the end."

"They call that the sun drown place," says Jayfeather. "Every night the sun sets disappearing behind it."

Fallenleaves took a big gulp of his food and looked to the left. Twoleg nests covered the land as far as the eyes could see. "There looks like the twoleg nests reach farther than the lake."

"Probably is; twolegs never stop; they take anything they want." _They've taken everything away from me. Even my heart._ Jayfeather shakes the thought away.

"What do you think it's going to be like?" asks Fallenleaves. "Being a twoleg- what do you think it's like?"

"It's cold and confusing and weird," says Jayfeather, thinking about his dream._ You think you can bring her back? She's gone!_ "Hopefully we can find her and bring her back quickly; I don't want to spend any extra time as a twoleg."


	20. Chapter 19

(Thanks you BMM, ShastamaeFirepool, AxelK4, smartblueladybug for commenting! BMM, I can't wait to read your stories! I saw Monsters Uni [actually, twice already] and I am so hooked! I can't wait to read your story on it! And I know Amberstar's part of this story is really boring; I knew from the get go that it was, but since she's the main character I just felt I should put her perspective in it. I know it's boring for you guys (and kind of boring for Amberstar), but it's also important to her. She's in a hard part in her life. Oh… sorry. This next chapters about her…)

…Warriors…

I looked around the cafeteria. Same set up as always. Popular kids in the middle. I try not to catch Anna or Damien's eyes as I look at their table. My old friend on the sides. I try not to even look at them. And people I haven't really talked to in the middle. Luckily everyone has gotten used to me being in the school, or at least they stopped talking about me. But most people don't want to talk _to _me. Angie isn't in this lunch today; she has some chemistry lab that's worth half her grade so she's been skipping all her classes and even lunch I guess.

_Where should I sit?_ I think. _I don't want to sit completely alone._

Then I notice a mop of brown hair alone at a table. Actually he isn't completely alone. He's siting with people, but they're ignoring him. Honestly, Jack is so quiet. He barely says anything in bio. Even when we're doing labs. He works, but he does it so quietly. I haven't really heard him talk since he told me his name.

So I take my tray of what I can only assume is squirrel shaped to look like chicken. If I haven't eating squirrel for the past five years I would be completely disgusted. And I walk over to the table and sit across from him.

"Hey Jack," I say as I sit across from. "Can you believe they call this chicken?" He just stares at me with a mystified face while everyone else at the table stops talking. "Um… hi." I try to say to them.

"Hi," says Jack quietly. "Sorry, girls don't usually sit at this table. Actually, you're the first."

"Yeah," says a skinny African American boy with a star trek shirt, "and aren't you the one that-"

Jack looks horrified and cuts in. "Yes, she is." He's face turns bright red and he turns away.

"So you're the one that looks like Alexa," says the boy and gives Jack a smirk.

Jack gives him an angry look but it fades quickly. "That's Eric," says Jack. He looks like he wants to say more, but shuts his mouth.

_Eric, I remember him._ I think. _He carried a rocket ship toy with him to school every day._

Eric seems to know what Jack was going to say. "We've been friends since he moved here. We tell each other everything." He leans closer to me (and I lean a bit farther away). "_Everything."_

"So what's your name?" asks another brown haired boy at the table. He has a bright blue watch that has a blue phone booth in it. "I'm Jared, by the way."

"Nice to meet your Jared. My name's Amber. You knew who I was, but not my name?"

"Everyone knows who they think you are," Says a blond boy with dark brown eyes. "No one seems to know you. Oh, my names Nelson."

"Nice to meet you guys," I say. "How much does everyone know about me?" I ask. I don't want any crazy rumors to start; or, you know, _how I'm a cat._

"Nothing really," says Eric. "Just that you look exactly like Alexa and have the same mannerisms. There was one rumor that you were her ghost that has come to haunt Demean, but I think another football player started that."

I laugh. "I should be haunting that guy. He's a jerk. I can't tell you how many times-" I stop myself. I'm not supposed to know him well. "I- I mean, he looks like a jerk."

I think again. _A ghost._ I look down at my reflection in my cup of water. Maybe I am a ghost. I'm not who I used to be.

"So… what do you guys like to do for fun?" I say trying to lighten the mood.

"Watch star trek," says Eric.

"Watch, Doctor Who," says Jared.

He looks like he is about to say more but Nelson cuts in. "Watch Star Wars and playing video games." They all nod their heads to the video games.

"Don't you ever go outside?" I ask. How can you spend your entire life in front of a screen?

"Well," stats Jared. "There's nothing to-"

"I like to go outside," says a quiet voice across from me. We all look up and turn to look at Jack. He's been quiet this entire time. "I like to play basketball."

"We should play sometime," I say. "I'm really bad, but maybe you could teach me."

_Maybe if we hung out outside of class he'll talk more,_ I think. _It would be nice to have a friend. Maybe all these nerdy guys could be my friends._

"That would be-" begins Jack before the bell rings and we have to get to our classes.

"See you later guys!" I say as I quickly exit the lunch room. If I'm late for French again Madame will have my head. And as much as I'd love to lose a life to her…

…Warriors…

(Sorry for the boring chapter! They'll get interesting soon. I promise. Remember to R&R!)


	21. Chapter 20

(Thank you smartblueladybug, jayleaf1, Featherleap, and Moss for commenting! I'm so sorry I haven't written in… a month… I'm always so busy and I didn't realize a month had even gone by… so I have a really long car trip so I'm writing! Yay!)

…Warriors…

Fallenleaves looked around him. The mountains cold, hard rock had turned into soft dirt. Dead grass mixed in with the dirt. They were still in the mountains, but luckily away from the stone.

"We must be getting closer," Jayfeather says as he smells the air. The smell of grass filled his nose. _At least this is better than the stone,_ he thinks.

Nervous energy flows through Fallenleaves. _We're almost there!_ He thinks. _Maybe this is where I belong_. He shakes the though away. _What am I thinking! I haven't even been a twoleg yet! And I'm a cat! That's where I belong. That's my home._

"Hurry up! You're so far behind I can't hear your footsteps! It's not that much longer," says Jayfeather. "At most two days until we reach Mother Mouth."

Fallenleaves runs to catch up to Jayfeather.

After a few awkward moments of silence Fallenleaves finally asks, "How did Mom and you become mates?"

Jayfeather flinches as if someone leaped at him. "Why would you ask something like that?!" He calms down and walks a bit faster.

"Well, my whole existence of being is because of your accident and I would like to know why."

Jayfeather sighs. "Fine," he takes a deep breathe then lets it out slowly. "Your mother came to this Clan nothing more than a scruffy loner; not that much older than an apprentice. She begged Firestar to let her join the camp claiming to know who he was. Everyone was surprised when he immediately let her join the clan. She was so excited. And the look on her face when she met me- I'll never forget that look."

"Wait!" Exclaimed Fallenleaves in surprise. "'Look?' You could see? I thought you were born blind!"

"That's the thing. When I touched her I could see! I saw everything for that second her tail accidentally brushed me. I saw Firestar and Lionblaze! I've seen them before, but never in real life. Only in dreams," _not necessarily mine,_ he thinks to himself. "And most of all I saw her. I saw her dirty, matted orange fur. I saw her huge nervous, excited, fiery eyes. I could see. Back then I thought it was just her. There was no reason for it. When I touched her I could see. Many times I tried getting close to her to see if it would happen again- If I would see again. Since she was in training I asked her to help me sort herbs or help me restock them. I learned that I could only see when I was touching her. With me trying to get close to her, naturally, we started to become friends. After she became a warrior and received the name Amberheart she still helped me with herbs. It was not long after that that I realized that she felt the same way as I did."

He doesn't even sound like himself, thinks Fallenleaves. He looks over to his father who has a faraway look, as if remembering something from long ago. His voice is soft, gentle- not like the stern, raspy voice Fallenleaves grew up with.

"No longer did I 'accidentally' brush her with my tail to see her beauty. Our tails would intertwine."

Fallenleaves feels a pang in his heart. He had been so angry - at Jayfeather; at his mother. How dare she lie to him! How could she live knowing her children were never meant to know their real father?

Now he understood. Their love was like his tinkering- his building. It was something that shouldn't happen; something that makes no sense. But something you need to do; something that inside, felt right.

"That's why I need to find her," says Jayfeather. As if he doesn't even notice Fallenleaves anymore. He says it as if it pains him. "I need to find her. I need to find her for my sanity. For us." Fallenleaves looks back at his father then to the StarClan less sky. _We have to find her,_ he thinks._ If it's the last thing I do._

…Warriors…

(Thanks for reading! Remember to R&R)


	22. Chapter 21

(Thank you BBM, ShastamaeFirepool, jayleaf1, smartblueladybug, Featherleap, snowleaf54, and Sarnia Oblivion for commenting! Moss, I will check out your stories on press! Sounds cool! So I've done absolutely nothing today [besides drawing an awesome picture of Sandy {or Sand man as everyone calls him, but I've watch Rise of the Guardians way to many times to not act like we're close!}] and feel like a kittypet so I might as well start writing and probably won't finish until late and will probably tired for tennis practice, but you know, writing is fun! And stuffs about to go down! [Or not])

…Warriors…

Berrynose, Icecloud, and Ivypool rush into camp. Dead leaves and hard, thawing ground crush under their thudding paws. The bright sun told them that Newleaf was coming. But they weren't worried about that now.

"Lionblaze!" Ivypool shouts as she takes a halting stop in the middle of camp. She madly looks around searching for their deputy.

"He's in the Medicine Cat's den with Dovewing and Pinetree." Ivypool turns around to see Molefur.

"Thanks so much!" she shouts back as she sprints to the Medicine Cat's den.

_I knew Dovewing has whitecough,_ she thinks. _But I didn't know it was bad enough that she needs to go to the Medicine Cat's den!_

When Ivypool reaches the entrance she stops. Dovewing is saying something.

"…haven't been able to use it since," Ivypool catches the end. Her usually ebullient and gregarious voice is replaced with a banal, tired one. "Sorry, I'm so useless. I can't help you, Lionblaze."

Ivypool enters the den.

"It's alright I'll figure it out," says Lionblaze as he sees Ivypool. He starts to make his way to leave.

"Wait!" says Ivypool. "I've come to see you."

"What do you need?" says Lionblaze wearily.

"When Berrynose, Icecloud, and I were on the patrol, we smelled something," she says hesitantly.

_How can I tell him this? He's already under so much stress lately. Not only is he in charge of the entire Clan, but because his mate ran away! And now his brother and son are out looking for some far away herbs, but leaving the Clan without a Medicine Cat! How am I going to tell him about the foxes?!_ She looked over at Pinetree's mitigate, swollen body peacefully sleeping next to her. She shakes her head. _Stop being so maudlin and tell him!_

"What did you find?!" Lionblaze presses.

"We found fox scents on the edge of the territory. And not just one; we found at least ten individual scents, but it's ambiguous to how many in total. Lionblaze, what are we going to do?"

For a few second he stood their frozen, his wide eyes staring at her. He couldn't believe what he was hearing.

"Is it true?!" Dovewing says, appearing next to him. They two of them jump; they had forgotten that she was still standing there. "If only my powers were working!" she bellows. "How could I not have warned the Clan!? I had no idea! I'm so useless!"

"Wait! Your powers aren't working?!" asks Ivypool. "How could you not have told me!? I thought we agreed to always tell each other the truth!"

"I didn't want anyone to make you worry! Or you Lionblaze," she turns to look at him. "You have the entire clan to worry about. And with everything that's happened to you…" her voice trails off.

_What else isn't the clan telling be because of that mousebrained twoleg? _Thinks Lionblaze. He sighs and looks down at his daughter- _Jayfeather's daughter_, he reminds himself. _I could really use that twoleg,_ he admits.

"Take any five cats and investigate the area," Lionblaze says with a sudden authority.

"It's near the old twoleg nest," says Ivypool nervously. "Right where we found that other strange scent."

"Maybe the foxes scared off the other creatures," Dovewing says with hollow positivity.

Ivypool and Lionblaze wipe away her comment. "I know you're not feeling well, but can you go, Dovewing?" asks Lionblaze. "Maybe being closer to the scent will help. We're going to need all the help we can get." He says the last comment mostly to himself.

Dovewing and Ivypool dip their head and swarm camp looking for cats.

Lionblaze turns around to see Pinetree stirring from her sleep.

"Hi, Dad," she says groggily. "What's going on?"

Lionblaze stand their looking for the right way to tell her.

"Wait! I'm sorry!" she says, suddenly fully awake. "I- I didn't mean to call you 'Dad'." She says awkwardly.

Sudden silence fills the room as they realize they haven't been alone together since Amberstar changed.

"You can still call me Dad," Lionblaze says weakly. "I still helped you catch your first mouse and taught you the perfect way to throw a mossball at your brothers."

"Filled with some snow," she smiles. "Unless they hit me first- then ice."

"Remember that time you hit Skydream so hard she passed out!" They had only been apprentices then.

"Well if she kept talking to Cloudtail like that I think Brightheart would have taken _her _eyes out!"

They laughed. "Thank StarClan you didn't tell your mother that I taught you that! I would have had to clean the elders den for moons!"

"Hey!" screams Pinetree giddily. "I _did _have to clean it out! For two moons! And I couldn't go to gatherings!" They sat back and laughed.

_The gatherings tomorrow!_ Lionblaze thinks and stops laughing. _The first gathering without Amberstar. She left the day after the gathering; it's been a moon without the she-cat and the clan is already falling apart. I hope she comes soon._ He shakes the thought away.

"So… why are you in here?" he asks Pinetree. "Are Earthspirit's kit's bothering you? I know the both can be quite verbose, especially Palekit."

_I remember when Amberstar first left and the kit yelled at me! _Thinks Lionblaze. Although it was amusing, his heart still hurt from the accusations. Icekit was sitting next to her, he remembers, talking about a butterfly she chased.

"Brightheart says I should stay in here so she can look after me. My kits are coming soon and it will be easier to watch me in here." She looks out the entrance and into camp- a longing look in her eyes.

_I've seen that look before,_ thinks Lionblaze. _On Amberstar. At least she doesn't have her mother's spirit. Amberstar used to always sneak out of camp!_ He frowned. _The twoleg._

"Where is Brightheart then?" he asks, shocked as he looks around the empty den.

"She's on a hunting patrol; she still is doing her warrior duties."

"I better see what going on in camp," says Lionblaze before turning. "And I'll tell Brightheart that she is relieved from her warrior duties until Jayfeather gets back. She can be the medicine cat full time."

"You don't have to do that!" she says selflessly.

Yes I do." _If I can't take care of the entire clan, I can at least take care of you_, he thinks determinedly.

"Good luck, Dad," he turns to look at her. "I know you can do it."

_Do what? _He thinks._ I can't do anything. I need that twoleg._

…Warriors…

(Thanks for reading and remember to R&R! Sorry I only posted one chapter. I meant to post more, but _the FroYo was calling to meeeeeeeeeee._


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